Systems and methods for triggering livestream communications between users based on proximity-based criteria for avatars within virtual environments that correspond to the users

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems described herein facilitate virtual interactions between users that more closely resemble their in-person counterparts. In particular, the methods and systems simulate in-person interactions in virtual environments through the use of complex spatial algorithms. For example, in some embodiments, the methods and systems provide avatar-based video conferencing systems in which avatars are connected by video/voice chat to any avatar based on one or more criteria.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. Application No.17/505,319, filed on Oct. 19, 2021, which claims the benefit of priorityof U.S. Provisional Pat. Application No. 63/093,769, filed on Oct. 19,2020. The contents of the foregoing applications are incorporated hereinin their entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND

Video conferencing systems capable of hosting conversations amongnumerous remote participants have become increasingly prevalent inrecent years. Similarly, there has been an increase in the number andtype of virtual environments that allow users to interact with oneanother through virtual avatars. Despite the increases in processingspeed and graphical capabilities, these video conferencing systems andvirtual environments, and the interactions of users within them, stillfail to appropriately simulate in-person interactions.

SUMMARY

In view of this problem, methods and systems are described herein forsimulating in-person interactions in virtual environments. Inparticular, the methods and systems described herein facilitateinteractions between users that more closely resemble their in-personcounterparts. For example, video conferencing systems and virtualenvironments struggle to intuitively facilitate the frequent and fluidinitiation, joining, and leaving of small-group conversations thatcharacterize in-person social interactions in a variety of contexts. Asan example, while these systems allow synchronous conversations withmultiple participants, they feature inherently socially unintuitivemechanisms for joining and leaving conversations as part of an overallvideo conference.

For example, a user of a conventional video conferencing systemtypically joins a conversation at a prearranged time, and may initiallylack important contextual information about the participants present andthe topic and tone of conversation-information that would, in a physicalcontext, frequently be gained at a distance upon physical approachthrough visual (e.g., persons present, body language, facialexpressions) and auditory (e.g., overheard conversation snippets,emotive sounds such as laughter) cues. Leaving a conversation in aconventional video conferencing system is typically instantaneous, whichcan be jarring if it occurs unexpectedly-perhaps more so than someonesimply walking away from a physical conversation. As another example,conventional video conferencing systems rely on mosaic displays ofmultiple users all talking on a single audio channel. This format makesindividual conversations difficult. While some conventional videoconferencing systems also have features enabling splitting aconversation into two or more smaller conversations, these mechanicssuffer from the same awkwardness and rigidity as joining and leaving anoverall video conferencing session, with the addition of interruptionsto the on-going session as users announce their arrival and exit.

One approach to overcoming awkwardness and rigidity is to mergeconventional video conferencing systems with virtual environments thatallow users to interact with one another through virtual avatars. Insuch cases, a user has an avatar that moves about a virtual environmentand initiates video conferencing sessions with users of other avatarsbased on the respective avatars being within a certain proximity to eachother. However, these systems suffer from a lack of intuitiveness andconsistency when initiating, joining, or leaving conversations involvingmultiple users.

Moreover, the use of a proximity-based solution raises several noveltechnical problems. First, the proximities that trigger an interactionin a proximity-based system may be difficult to determine (e.g., leadingto users struggling to cram their avatars together) or may overlap withproximities for other interactions (e.g., leading to confusion aboutwhich interaction a user is joining or leaving). For example, a firstuser might be within the proximity of a second user (e.g., triggering aninteraction between the first user and the second user), who in turn isin the proximity of a third user (e.g., triggering an interactionbetween the third user and the second user), but the first user and thethird user are not within each other’s proximities and, therefore, arenot added to an interaction. This creates a confusing conversationenvironment in which users may not have the same perception of who is ina given conversation. Second, conversations may be inadvertentlydisconnected when an avatar moves slightly outside the proximity radius,especially when two or more participants attempt to move their avatarsabout the virtual world together. While one solution to such a problemmay be to freeze the state or place of the avatars that are parties toan interaction, this solution reintroduces the rigidity discussed above.

To overcome these technical problems, a system may implement permanentlydisplayed webcam feeds from all avatars, with the webcam feed positionedabove or near the avatar itself. Alternatively, a system may use spatialsound technology to make audio feeds from avatars spread across a largearea of the virtual environment audible to everyone, with attenuationdepending on distance and other factors such as avatar orientation.However, these solutions introduce additional drawbacks. For example,these solutions still suffer from ambiguity regarding who is in aconversation with whom at what time (e.g., there is often no cleardelineation regarding who is in a specific conversation and who is not,who might be eavesdropping with an avatar nearby, etc.), andconversations involving many users may suffer from position-dependentattenuated audio leading to an inconsistent experience and some usersbeing difficult to hear. Thus, there is a clear benefit to anavatar-based system in which avatars are either connected to each otheror not, with limited or no audio or video shared outside this explicitconnection structure, but in which joining and leaving conversations isfluid, intuitive, unambiguous, and inclusive of the same set ofparticipants from the perspective of each user.

Accordingly, in order to overcome the aforementioned problems, andwithout the drawbacks mentioned above, the methods and system describeherein simulate in-person interactions in virtual environments throughthe use of complex spatial algorithms. For example, in some embodiments,the methods and systems provide avatar-based video conferencing systemsin which avatars are connected by video/voice chat to another avatarbased on one or more criteria such as the proximity of the avatars toeach other within the virtual environment.

For example, one criterion may be related to the satisfaction of a“chaining” algorithm, which connects a first user to a second user whoseavatar is within a set radius of the first user’s avatar (or otherwiseconnected based on avatar orientation, explicit video chat request, orsome other method) and also to all other users who are connected to thesecond user. This algorithm may enable a large number of participants,whose avatars are not all within a predetermined proximity, to beconnected to and converse with all of the other participants,eliminating the problem of incompletely overlapping conversationsdescribed above. Another criterion may be based on the system generatinga “join area” and detecting an avatar entering that area. For example,when a new avatar enters the join area of a conversation, the avatar isconnected to all avatars in that conversation rather than only those inclose proximity. The system may further refine the join area by makingits location based on the positions of the avatars currently inconversation with each other.

Furthermore, beyond allowing users to chain to another users, the systemallows for users to chain to an on-going conversation (e.g., two otherusers that are already chained to each other) by moving into proximityof any user in the conversation. That is, the system allows a third userto chain itself to both a first and second user by only moving inproximity to a first user. This mechanism relieves a technical problemof having to navigate an avatar into a proximity of all other avatars ina conversation, which may be increasingly difficult in smaller screens(e.g., on a mobile device) and in denser virtual environments.

In some aspects, systems and methods are described for triggeringlivestream communications between users based on proximity-basedcriteria for avatars within virtual environments that correspond to theusers. For example, the system may generate for simultaneous display afirst virtual environment on a plurality of user interfaces, wherein arespective user interface of the plurality of user interfaces isaccessible to each of a first user, a second user, and a third user,wherein the first user, the second user, and the third user are locatedremotely from each other. The system may generate for display, in thefirst virtual environment, a first avatar corresponding to the firstuser, a second avatar corresponding to the second user, and a thirdavatar corresponding to the third user. The system may generate fordisplay on the respective user interfaces for the first user and thesecond user a conversation, wherein the conversation comprises alivestream communication between the first user and the second user. Thesystem may determine, for the third avatar, a third position in thefirst virtual environment. The system may determine, for theconversation, a conversation position in the first virtual environment.The system may determine one or more join areas based on the thirdposition or the conversation position, wherein the conversation positionis based on a first position for the first avatar and a second positionfor the second avatar. The system may compare the one or more join areasto one or more conversation initiation criteria to determine whether toallow the third user to join the conversation. The system may, inresponse to determining to allow the third user to join theconversation, add the third user to the conversation, wherein adding thethird user to the conversation comprises generating for display, thelivestream communication, on the respective user interfaces for thefirst user, the second user, and the third user.

Various other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will beapparent through the detailed description of the invention and thedrawings attached hereto. It is also to be understood that both theforegoing general description and the following detailed description areexamples and not restrictive of the scope of the invention. As used inthe specification and in the claims, the singular forms of “a,” “an,”and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise. In addition, as used in the specification and the claims, theterm “or” means “and/or” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-C show an illustrative virtual environment for simulatingin-person interactions, in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows another illustrative virtual environment for simulatingin-person interactions, in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative system diagram for simulating in-personinteractions, in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative architecture of a machine learning model,in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative architecture of a machine learning model,in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-D show illustrative diagrams related to join areas for avatars,in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIGS. 7A-C show illustrative diagrams related to avatar connectionsbased on motion, in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 8 shows illustrative user interfaces related to external avatarcontrol and situational dynamics, in accordance with one or moreembodiments.

FIG. 9 shows illustrative user interfaces related to maintainingconversations between users, in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of the steps involved in generatingcommunications between users in a virtual environment, in accordancewith one or more embodiments.

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of the steps involved in chaining avatarstogether in a virtual environment to enable communications betweenusers, in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of the steps involved in generating join areasin a virtual environment to enable communications between users, inaccordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of the steps involved in using avatar motionto determine whether to provide communications between users in virtualenvironments, in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of the steps involved in facilitating externalcontrol of user-controlled avatars based on user-defined criteria, inaccordance with one or more embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the embodiments of the invention. It will beappreciated, however, by those having skill in the art that theembodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specificdetails or with an equivalent arrangement. In other cases, well-knownstructures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the embodiments of the invention.

As described herein, the methods and systems relate to virtualenvironments for simulating in-person interactions between users throughthe use of avatars. It should be noted that, as described herein,embodiments describing users and avatars may be used interchangeably.That is, a user may interact with another user based on a respectiveavatar interacting with another respective avatar in the virtualenvironment. As referred to herein, a virtual environment may comprise avirtual rendering in which avatars may interact. The virtual environmentmay include two-dimensional and three-dimensional assets as well asvirtual reality and/or other media content. The virtual environment maybe accessed through a user device such as a computer, mobile device, orwearable electronic device. Furthermore, the system may receive inputsfrom a user that causes an avatar corresponding to the user to navigateand/or interact with the virtual environment and/or other avatars in thevirtual environment. For example, in some embodiments, the system maygenerate for simultaneous (or substantially simultaneous) display avirtual environment on a first user interface and a second userinterface. The first user interface may correspond to a first user andthe second user interface may correspond to a second user who is locatedremotely (e.g., over a computer network) from each other.

FIGS. 1A-C show an illustrative virtual environment for simulatingin-person interactions, in accordance with one or more embodiments. Forexample, FIG. 1A may show virtual environment 100 in a user interface.As referred to herein, a user interface may comprise a mechanism forenabling a user to view, navigate, and/or interact with content. Theuser interface may receive user inputs (e.g., via a remote control,mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touch pad, stylusinput, joystick, voice recognition interface, or other user inputs)and/or may present content in return. In some embodiments, a userinterface may be incorporated into a device; while in other embodiments,a user interface may be accessible by a device (e.g., a user interfacegenerated by a software application).

A virtual environment may include a networked application that allows auser to interact with both the computing environment and the work ofother users. For example, virtual environment 100 may comprise anetworked common operating space. Furthermore, virtual environment 100may allow one user to communicate (e.g., via video conferencing, email,chat, and/or web-based document sharing applications) with one or moreusers. In some embodiments, virtual environment 100 may comprise animmersive virtual environment such that it creates a psychological statein which the individual perceives himself or herself as existing withinvirtual environment 100. This immersion may be provided through theability of a user to interact, through a virtual avatar, with thevirtual avatars of other users.

Additionally or alternatively, virtual environment 100 may create animmersion through a thematic background and access to relatedapplications and/or third parties (e.g., shopping applications forthird-party providers, etc.). In some embodiments, the virtualembodiment may comprise a component virtual environment that comprises aplurality of component virtual environments. Each component virtualenvironment may comprise one or more rules for communications betweenusers (e.g., environment rules). Furthermore, the system may allow usersto enter and/or exit each of the component virtual environments to enterand/or exit another virtual environment. Upon entering a new virtualenvironment, the user may be subject to new environment rules. Forexample, the component virtual environments may not be mutuallyaccessible by translational avatar movement alone (e.g., moving anavatar around one of the component virtual environments). Instead, totransition from one virtual environment to another, the system mayprovide special commands or transition points (e.g., join/exitlocations) around a component virtual environment. By navigating througha transition point, the avatar may move to a different component virtualenvironment. This component virtual environment may include a hubenvironment that connects one or more other component virtualenvironments. Alternatively or additionally, the system may provideinstantaneous “teleportation” or some other special mode of transport(e.g., via a user selection of a menu option or a user input of aspecial command). In some embodiments, the system may allow other usersto call or pull avatars into a single component virtual environment(e.g., based on special commands, user inputs, and/or a required accesslevel).

In some embodiments, a user may be able to initiate, via the system,communications with users in one or more virtual environments (e.g., oneor more of a plurality of component virtual environments) to sharecontent. In some embodiments, the system may require a user input and/orspecific user access in order to initiate a communication between usersacross a plurality of virtual environments. For example, the system maynormally restrict communications between users to users that are in thesame virtual environment. However, in some situations, the system mayallow one or more users to initiate a multi-way conversation or one-waybroadcast that includes avatars in multiple separate virtualenvironments simultaneously. The broadcast may be a video/voice/textfeed from a single user or multiple users at once, and the system mayinclude screen sharing from one or more of them.

As described herein, the system may generate content (e.g., a virtualenvironment) and may also allow users to share content. As referred toherein, the term “content” should be understood to mean anelectronically consumable content or content that may be transmittedthrough an electronic format. For example, content may include audio,video, textual, and/or graphical content. Furthermore, the content mayinclude user generated content, non-user generated content such as thatreceived from a third-party source (including television programming,on-demand programs, internet content (e.g., streaming content,downloadable content, webcasts, etc.), video clips, screen sharing,interactive presentations, spreadsheets, audio, content informationand/or metadata, pictures, rotating images, documents, playlists,websites, articles, books, electronic books, blogs, advertisements, chatsessions, social media, applications, games, and/or any other media ormultimedia and/or combination of the same. As referred to herein, theterm “multimedia” should be understood to mean content that utilizes atleast two different content forms described above, for example, text,audio, images, video, or interactivity content forms. Content may berecorded, played, displayed, or accessed by user devices, but can alsobe part of a live performance.

For example, the system may allow a user to initiate a conversation thatincludes all avatars, or a subset of avatars (e.g., based on a filteringcriterion and/or user selection), that are present in separate virtualenvironments. Alternatively or additionally, in another embodiment, thesystem may provide a broadcast of a user’s (or a group of users’)video/voice/text feed such that the feed is visible to all users, or asubset of users, present in multiple separate virtual environmentswithout initiating a multi-way conversation.

For example, it may be desirable to have multiple virtual environmentsthat represent different environments but that are associated with oneanother (e.g., based on common characteristics of the virtualenvironment, avatars that frequent the virtual environments, and usercredentials of users corresponding to avatars in a virtual environment).For example, one virtual environment may comprise a virtual workplace,while another virtual environment may include a virtual office spaceand/or a completely separate virtual technology lab. In such cases, thesystem may enable webcam, microphone, and/or chat broadcasts from one ormore individual users to users with avatars spread across multiplevirtual environments.

As referred to herein, environment rules may refer to one or more rulescorresponding to a given virtual environment that indicate how usersand/or avatars may interact in the virtual environment. For example, anenvironment rule may indicate how a user enters/exits a virtualenvironment (e.g., an environment transition rule). An environment rulemay indicate how a user communicates with another user (or how an avatarcommunicates with another avatar in a virtual environment) (e.g., anenvironment communication rule). The environment communication rule mayindicate how a user enters/leaves a communication and/or one or moredynamics of the conversation (e.g., what platform is used for theconversation, what types of conversations are allowed, what formats forconversations are used, etc.). An environment rule may indicate how anavatar moves and/or what route an avatar takes in the virtualenvironment (e.g., an environment movement rule). In another example, anenvironment rule may define the boundaries of the virtual environmentand/or limitations on movements within the boundaries. That is, theenvironment rule may provide a grid map of the virtual environment, inwhich the grid map indicates cell properties (e.g., what actions maytake place, etc.) for each grid portion of the virtual environment. Forexample, an environment rule (e.g., based on the grid map) may indicatethe presence of a wall or table (e.g., a virtual table in the virtualenvironment). Despite both objects sharing an environment ruleindicating that an avatar may not pass through the wall or table, theobjects may have different environment rules corresponding to whether ajoin area may include or pass through the object. For example, while thesystem may determine that a join area extends through or is enhanced toencompass the table, the system may determine that a join area does notextend beyond or encompass a wall. As such, the system simulates areal-world environment in which users at a table may communicate, butusers on opposite sides of a wall may not.

Virtual environment 100 may also include one or more virtual avatars(e.g., avatar 112). As referred to herein, an avatar may include agraphical representation of a user or the user’s character or persona.For example, the virtual avatar may be a navigable virtual avatar. Asreferred to herein, a navigable virtual avatar may comprise a graphicalrepresentation that navigates a virtual environment in response to userinputs. In some embodiments, the avatar may include characteristics todistinguish one avatar from another (e.g., unique clothes, items,graphical stylings, etc.). For example, these characteristics may beselected by a user or may be selected automatically by the system. Insome embodiments, the system may select these characteristics based onactions and/or events occurring in the virtual environment. For example,the system may alter the appearance of an avatar based on actions of theavatar (e.g., attending a designated event in the virtual environment)or user (e.g., currently interacting with another user or joining aconversation with another user). In some embodiments, the system mayfurther provide visual, textual, graphical, and/or audio cues toindicate different scenarios as the avatar navigates the virtualenvironment (e.g., indicating that an avatar is within a specific joindistance from another avatar).

In FIG. 1 , avatar 112 is shown as a three-dimensional form; however, insome embodiments, avatars may appear as two-dimensional representations.In some embodiments, the system may receive user inputs allowing a userto navigate an avatar around virtual environment 100 in order to join orleave a group/conversation currently shown in virtual environment 100.For example, the virtual environment may provide a graphicalrepresentation that allows avatars to navigate towards or away fromother avatars in order to initiate a conversation. For example, as theavatars traverse virtual environment 100, the system may determine oneor more join areas for each avatar.

As referred to herein, a “join area” comprises an area within a virtualenvironment that enables (or triggers) a user to connect with anotheruser. For example, the system may determine, for a first avatar, a firstposition in the first virtual environment. The position (and/or joinarea) may be defined in terms of a cell or cells in a grid map of thevirtual environment or may be defined in another quantitative orqualitative measurement (e.g., Cartesian coordinates). The position(and/or join area) may be absolute (e.g., corresponding to a fixednumber of cells or pixels on a screen), but may also be relative (e.g.,corresponding to a position of the grid or a portion of the pixels). Thesystem may also determine, for the second avatar, a second position inthe first virtual environment. The system may then determine one or morejoin areas based on the first position or the second position. Forexample, the system may determine a first join area for the first userand determine whether the second user is within that join area.Alternatively or additionally, the system may determine a first andsecond join area for the first and second users, respectively, anddetermine whether (or by how much) the areas overlap. The system maythen compare the one or more join areas to one or more conversationinitiation criteria to determine whether to initiate a conversationbetween the first user and the second user. As further described below,the conversation initiation criteria may include a distance between thefirst and second avatar, whether respective join areas of the avatarsoverlap, and/or other criteria based on the users (e.g., user profileinformation), environment (e.g., environment rules), currentcircumstances (e.g., whether a user is already connected in anotherconversation), etc.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1 , virtual environment 100 currentlyincludes three users. Each user is represented in virtual environment100 by their respective avatar (e.g., avatars 112, 114, and 116). Asshown in FIG. 1 , avatars 112 and 114 are currently engaged in aconversation and/or are part of a group. Accordingly, video mosaics 102and 104 are shown. Video mosaic 102 (corresponding to avatar 112) andvideo mosaic 104 (corresponding to avatar 114) are currently displayed.These may be video conferencing display windows that allow users tocommunicatee in an audio/video manner. Additionally, the audio/videomanner may represent a video of a user and, thus, contrast with thegraphical style of virtual environment 100. Users may communicate witheach other by exchanging communications with each other and/or betweenrespective avatars. These communications may include establishingconversations.

As referred to herein, a “conversation” may include a group ofusers/avatars who are connected to each other to exchange communications(e.g., video/voice/text/audio communications via a peer-to-peerlivestream between two or more users). For example, a conversation maycomprise a peer-to-peer livestream communication between the first userand the second user (which may be facilitated by a platform providingthe virtual environments). When connected during a conversation, the oneor more users that are part of the conversation establish a session inwhich communications may be exchanged. These communications may beexchanged such that other users within the virtual environment are fullyexcluded from the communications. That is, the system may ensure thataudio, video, textual, or other content may be consumed only by userswho are parties to the conversation. Furthermore, the system may presentthese communications within the user interface presenting the virtualenvironment and/or may tag the location of the presentation to aposition of an avatar in the virtual environment.

Alternatively or additionally, these communications may be exchangedsuch that other users within the virtual environment are partiallyexcluded from the communications. That is, the system may ensure thataudio, video, textual, or other content may be consumed by users thatare not parties to the conversation, but the content consumed by usersthat are not parties to the conversation occurs with differentcharacteristics than it does for users that are parties to the session.

As referred to herein, a “conversation characteristic” of acommunication may comprise any qualitative or quantitative metric thatdistinguishes one communication from another. The conversationcharacteristic may indicate a quality of the content. For example, usersthat are not parties to the conversation may hear audio for theconversation at a lower volume or quality. Alternatively, audio may bepresented in a different format (e.g., users that are not parties to thesession may only see graphics indicating that audio communications arebeing exchanged, and the users that are not parties to the conversationmay not be able to hear or access the audio content itself).

Additionally or alternatively, the conversation characteristic mayindicate a format in which a user engages (or is restricted fromengaging) in a conversation. For example, the conversationcharacteristics may comprise the rights attributed to users to exchangein the communications. For example, users that are not parties to theconversation may be able only to receive audio for the conversation andmay not be able to transmit audio for the conversation (e.g., simulatingthe users being able to overhear or eavesdrop on conversations, but notinterrupt). Alternatively, users that are not parties to theconversation may only see icons, graphics, or emojis as opposed toreceiving audio communications.

A conversation characteristic may also include a conversation position(e.g., a point in the virtual environment corresponding to theconversation). For example, the conversation position may representposition in a virtual environment, for which navigating an avatar to,may cause a user to join a conversation. In some embodiments, theconversation position may correspond to an object (e.g., a table) in avirtual environment. In some embodiments, the conversation position maycorrespond to a median, mean, or center point of a conversation joinarea. Alternatively or additionally, the conversation position maycomprise a set of coordinates or dimensions that correspond to theconversation join area (e.g., an area in a virtual environment, forwhich navigating an avatar to, may cause a user to join a conversation).

For example, in FIG. 1A, avatars 112 and 114 may be in a conversation.This is contrasted with avatar 116, who is not in the conversation withavatars 112 and 114. It should be noted that FIG. 1A may represent auser interface as seen by a user corresponding to avatars 112 or 114.For example, because avatar 112s and 114 are currently in aconversation, their respective video mosaics (e.g., 102 and 104) aredisplayed. In some embodiments, these video mosaics are not viewable byusers not in the conversation. For example, avatars 112 and 114 (and/ortheir respective users) may be considered “connected.” As referred toherein, connected users include users and/or avatars that are part of aconversation (and/or group). In some embodiments, multiple users may beconnected through a user in one group that may be connected with otherusers and/or other groups. In some embodiments, the connections of oneuser in a group may not be common to all users in the group. Forexample, a user may be connected to two different groups that mayinclude other users that are not connected.

In some embodiments, the system may use one or more criteria fordetermining whether two users (and/or avatars) are connected. Forexample, the system may determine one or more characteristics about auser or avatar and compare those one or more characteristics to one ormore conversation initiation criteria to determine whether a user isconnected. As referred to herein, a “connection characteristic” mayinclude any information about a user or an avatar that bears on whetherthe user is connected to one or more conversations and/or a level atwhich the user is connected (e.g., fully, partial, etc.). Thesecharacteristics may be compared against conversation initiationcriteria. As referred to herein, “conversation initiation criteria”comprise any criteria that may be used (or compared against aconversation characteristic) to determine whether to connect users.These characteristics may include a position (or join area location) ofan avatar in a virtual environment as well as any data thatdistinguishes one avatar from another. This information may also includeselections by a user (or avatar) and/or other inputs (e.g., audio,textual, etc.). For example, connection characteristics may includewhere an avatar is currently located, what connections an avatarcurrently has, what on-screen selections a user has made, what words orphrases (e.g., via typing into a chat feature or speaking via an audioinput) a user has input, etc. Additionally, connection characteristicsmay include past actions (or inactions) of a user. For example, thesystem may retrieve a user history of the user in the present session ofthe virtual environment and/or other previous sessions to generate auser profile of the user. The user profile may include connectioncharacteristics of the user that may be used to determine whether a usershould join or leave a group.

In some embodiments, connection characteristics may be compared againstconversation maintenance criteria. As referred to herein, “conversationmaintenance criteria” may comprise any criteria that may be used (orcompared against a conversation characteristic) to determine whether tomaintain a connection between users. Conversation maintenance criteriaand conversation initiation criteria may be the same or different. Forexample, both conversation initiation criteria and conversationmaintenance criteria may comprise whether join areas for respectiveavatars are overlapping and/or whether two avatars are a thresholddistance from each other. Furthermore, both conversation initiationcriteria and conversation maintenance criteria may be dynamicallyaltered based on changes to connection characteristics, environmentrules, etc.

Furthermore, the system may vary a join area based on whether the useris joining or leaving a conversation. The join and leave areas may havedifferent areas. The use of the different sizes of join and leave areas(e.g., the user of different conversation initiation criteria andconversation maintenance criteria) may reduce inadvertent joining andleaving events. For example, a small join area can be used to make itmore difficult to inadvertently connect to another avatar, while a largeleave area can make it easier to remain in a conversation that one isalready a part of.

For example, prior proximity-radius systems have used the same distancebetween two avatars for both joining and leaving conversations - if oneavatar (e.g., a first user) moves within this distance of another (e.g.,a second user), a connection is initiated between them (e.g., the firstuser and the second user), but if they (e.g., the first user and thesecond user) then move further than this distance apart, the connectionis severed (e.g., between the first user and the second user).Effectively, each avatar has a circle (e.g., or other shape) surroundingit - other avatars (e.g., a third user) that enter this circle areconnected to the avatar (e.g., the first user and the second user), andavatars that exit the circle are disconnected. For example, the systemmay generate two separate join areas, one area (which may be a circle orother shape) associated with a first avatar (e.g., a first user) intowhich a second avatar (e.g., a second user) must enter in order to beconnected to the first avatar (e.g., first user), and another, typicallylarger area associated with the first avatar (e.g., first user) that asecond avatar (e.g., second user) must exit in order to be disconnectedfrom the first avatar (e.g., first user).

For example, as non-connected avatars move around a virtual environment,the system checks whether they (e.g., the first user and the seconduser) are within the “join areas” of each other. If the systemdetermines that they (e.g., the first user and the second user) are, thesystem initiates a conversation between them (e.g., the first user andthe second user). Once two or more avatars are connected in aconversation, the system determines whether they have moved outside the“leave areas” of each other, and disconnect their conversation if theyhave. As referred to herein, a “leave area” comprises an area within avirtual environment that enables (or triggers) a user to disconnect fromanother user.

The system may generate the leave area as a function of the join area.For example, the system may determine a “leave distance” as a linear ornonlinear function of a join distance. Alternatively or additionally,the system may determine whether or not an avatar is within a join orleave area of another avatar (or conversation) and/or whether or not thejoin/leave areas overlap. For example, the system may determine toconnect two avatars (e.g., a first and second user) only if they (e.g.,a first and second user) are both within each other’s join areas.Alternatively or additionally, the system may determine a first avatar(e.g., first user) to be connected to a second avatar (e.g., seconduser) that enters the first avatar’s join area, without requiring thefirst avatar to also enter the second avatar’s join area. Alternativelyor additionally, the system determines to disconnect two avatars fromone another only if the system determines that they are both outsideeach other’s leave areas. Alternatively or additionally, the systemdetermines that a first avatar may be disconnected from a second avatarthat exits the first avatar’s leave area, without requiring the firstavatar to also exit the second avatar’s leave area.

For example, with radius-proximity systems that have equivalent join andleave conversation distances, it is common for two avatars to rapidlyand unintentionally move in and out of each others’ conversationdistances (especially when both avatars are moving together), creatingrapid connections and disconnections that can interfere with effectiveverbal communication. Having a leave area larger than a correspondingjoin area can mitigate this by making it easier for avatars to remainconnected in a conversation once they have initially joined, even ifthey stray slightly beyond the initial join area(s) of each other or ofthe present conversation.

One of the technical problems with radius proximity systems is that itis easy for an avatar to inadvertently join a conversation, and withchaining, possibly unintentionally linking multiple others into the sameconversation. If the join area is set or auto-scaled to be very small,it makes it more difficult to join a conversation unintentionally -without having to make the leave area similarly small (which would makeit difficult for avatars to remain in a conversation they are alreadypart of while moving around).

In some embodiments, a user profile may also include other informationthat is not related (directly or indirectly) to the virtual environment.For example, the system may determine social networks and/or othersources of content that may be relevant to a user and provide data feedsassociated with those content sources. It should be noted that anyinformation included in a user profile may be based on active monitoring(e.g., requesting the user to enter information into a profile) orpassive monitoring (e.g., tracking information about a user without theuser making an explicit decision that it is being used to generate auser profile). Such information may include current statuses, currentgroup affiliations (e.g., third-party “friend” designations, etc.). Thesystem may use this information to determine whether a user joins orleaves a conversation (e.g., these characteristics may be comparedagainst both conversation initiation criteria and conversationmaintenance criteria). For example, in response to detecting that twousers share a social media connection, the two users may be added to aconversation if a conversation initiation criterion corresponds to theautomatic connection of social media connections.

In some embodiments, the system may determine a shape or size of a joinarea based on a user profile (e.g., user settings for a shape or size),conversation characteristics (e.g., such as a number or percentage ofusers in a conversation, a predetermined importance of a conversation,etc.), an environment rule (e.g., objects in the environment, boundariesin the environment, and/or other rules relating to the shape or size ofa join area in a given virtual environment). In some embodiments, theshape or size may further be determined by a direction of an avatar,whether the avatar is moving or stationary (or otherwise navigatingabout the virtual environment and/or interacting with other avatars,objects, etc. in the virtual environment), whether other users havealready joined a conversation, and/or whether other join areas for otherconversations are present.

As shown in FIG. 1B, virtual environment 100 has now changed due to userinteractions. For example, avatar 116 has now moved closer to avatars112 and 114. In response, a user associated with avatar 116 has joined agroup with users associated with avatars 112 and 114. For example, videomosaic 106 has now appeared. Accordingly, a user associated with avatar116 may now use video mosaic 106 to communicate with users associatedwith avatars 112 and 114. For example, the system may connect avatars byvideo/voice chat to any avatar based on one or more criteria. Forexample, one criterion may relate to the satisfaction of a “chaining”algorithm, which connects a first user (e.g., avatar 112) to a seconduser (e.g., avatar 114) whose avatar is within a set radius of the firstuser’s avatar (or otherwise connected based on avatar orientation,explicit video chat request, or some other method) and also to all otherusers who are connected to the second user. Accordingly, a third user(e.g., avatar 116) may only need to be within a proximity to the firstuser to be “chained” to the second user. This algorithm may facilitateconversations among a large number of participants, whose avatars arenot all within a predetermined proximity, to be connected to all of theother participants, eliminating the problem of incompletely overlappingconversations described above.

As referred to herein, “chaining” users refers to the addition of oneuser to a conversation with another user. For example, if a first avatarand a second avatar B are connected, and a third avatar connects to thefirst avatar or the second avatar, then the third avatar is alsoautomatically connected to both avatars. This may occur even without thepresence of one or more of the avatars (or without one or more of theavatars meeting one or more conversation initiation criteria). Forexample, when a new connection between a first avatar and a secondavatar is formed (e.g., initiating a conversation), the system mayinitiate additional connections between the first avatar and any avatarsto which the second avatar is connected, and vice versa. Conversely, insome embodiments, for an avatar in a conversation to leave thatconversation, it must meet (or fail to meet) one or more conversationmaintenance criteria to be disconnected from all avatars in thatconversation.

For example, if the system has generated for display on respective userinterfaces for the first user and the second user a conversation,wherein the conversation comprises a peer-to-peer livestreamcommunication between the first user and the second user, the system mayadd additional users to the conversation based on either the firstavatar or the second avatar. For example, the system may determine, forthe first avatar, a first position in the first virtual environment. Thesystem may then determine, for the third avatar, a third position in thefirst virtual environment. The system may add, without user input, thethird user to the conversation based on the first position and the thirdposition (e.g., irrespective of the position of the second avatar). Assuch, the system may automatically include a first user in aconversation with a second user based on: (i) the first user beingwithin a join area of a third user; and/or (ii) the third user alreadybeing in a conversation with the second user.

Accordingly, the system provides several technical benefits. Namely, allusers have the same perception of who is connected to whom. That is, itis not possible for a first avatar to be connected to a second avatarand third avatar without the second avatar being connected to the thirdavatar. Moreover, a group of avatars does not need to all be in closeproximity to each other to maintain a conversation (as would be requiredin a strict radius-proximity system). Instead, the avatars may spreadout over a larger area so that it is easier to see/differentiate theavatars themselves. This is particular helpful in densely populatedvirtual environments, where a dense number of avatars makes not onlyviewing which avatars are present but selecting among the avatars (e.g.,using various user input devices) difficult or impossible.

For example, in a radius-proximity system without chaining, it ispossible to have one avatar connected to others who are not necessarilyconnected to each other, creating partially overlapping conversationsthat lead to confusion and misunderstanding. This is particularlyproblematic when conversations featuring video feeds are created asusers may be talking over each other with little coordination.Furthermore, creating a conversation with a large number of users in aradius-proximity only system is inherently difficult, because all users’avatars must be packed within a small radius of each other - or theradius must be made larger, which increases the likelihood ofinadvertently including extra nearby avatars. Chaining enables largeconversations with relatively spread-out or oddly-arranged avatars,without undue likelihood of inadvertently including extra avatars.

Additionally or alternatively, the system may use various conversationinitiation criteria when chaining avatars. For example, the system mayprovide absolute thresholds (e.g., binary tests that determine whetheror not an avatar may join a conversation) or apply weights to variousfactors. The weights may be used to generate a score or rank (orprediction in machine learning/AI embodiments) that are used todetermine whether or not to add a user to a conversation.

For example, the system may provide chaining with an absolute distancelimit, such that if a non-connected avatar (e.g., first user) meetsspatial criteria (e.g., distance, join area coverage and/or overlap,etc.) for being connected to a conversation (e.g., between a second userand a third user), but is greater than a threshold distance away fromany one of the avatars already in the conversation (e.g., the seconduser or the third user), the system will prevent an avatar (e.g., thefirst user) from joining the conversation (e.g., between a second userand a third user). The system may provide prompts and/or otherindicators to the first user, but may prevent the first user fromjoining the conversation unless the first user moves within thethreshold distance of all current conversation avatars (e.g.,corresponding to the second user and the third user), or moves within aconversation join area and/or with a threshold distance to aconversation position for the conversation.

By doing so, the system limits the spatial spread of avatars in aconversation, preventing inadvertent connection of large numbers ofavatars, or connections between avatars that may not be visible to eachother on a user’s screen. The absolute distance limit may be constant,or auto-scaled based on avatar density, virtual environment size, orother parameters.

Alternatively or additionally, the system may provide chaining with aconversation size limit, such that once a conversation includes acertain number of avatars (which may be constant or auto-scaled based onvarious parameters, such as computational resources available ornumber/density of avatars) an additional avatar is unable to join unlessan avatar currently included in the conversation leaves. In such cases,prior to adding an avatar (e.g., a first user to a conversation), thesystem may compare a current number of users in the conversation to athreshold limit. If the system determines that the current number isequal or exceeds the threshold limit, the system does not add theavatar. If the system determines that the current number is below thethreshold limit, the system adds the avatar.

Alternatively or additionally, the system may provide chaining with atime delay, such that a first avatar may be connected to a second avataronly after staying within that second avatar’s join area for a certainamount of time. The amount of time needed may be a function of thenumber of avatars connected to the second avatar, which makes it lesslikely that an avatar will inadvertently connect to a large number ofother avatars via chaining.

During chaining, the system may determine one or more conversationcharacteristics of a conversation and automatically apply those to auser being chained to the conversation. For example, the system maydetermine that a first user in a conversation has limited rights in theconversation, and the system may provide the second user that is beingchained to the first user those limited rights. Alternatively, thesystem may determine conversation characteristics with the conversationitself and apply those conversation characteristics to the second user.

In some embodiments, the system may determine whether to connect one ormore users based on a distance between their respective avatars in thevirtual environment. For example, the system may use a radius-proximitysystem to determine when to join users in a conversation and/or whenusers should leave a conversation. As referred to herein, aradius-proximity system is a system (e.g., in an avatar-based videoconferencing system) in which two avatars are connected to each otherbased on one being within a set distance of the other. For example, thesystem may determine a distance between two avatars. Additionally oralternatively, the system may determine join areas based on an areadefined by a circle around the avatar having a radius of a predeterminedamount.

The system may use various metrics to determine distance (e.g., pixels,grid-based allocations of the virtual environment, etc.). Additionally,the distance may be dynamically adjusted based on a size of a virtualenvironment and/or the density of avatars in the virtual environment. Inaddition, the radius-proximity system may be based on one or moreshapes, and each shape may be irregular and/or dynamically altered. Thesystem may use the radius-proximity system to determine join areas andleave areas for a given conversation. Another criterion may be based onthe system generating a join area and detecting an avatar entering thatarea. For example, when a new avatar enters the join area of aconversation, the system may connect the entering avatar to all avatarsin that conversation rather than only those in close proximity. Thesystem may further refine the join area by making its location based onthe positions of the avatars currently in conversation with each other.In some embodiments, a join area may be based on an environment rule ofthe virtual environment and/or a conversation characteristic for theconversation.

It should be noted that embodiments related to join areas may also beapplied to leave areas. For example, while a join area may be atwo-dimensional area or three-dimensional volume for a given avatar orconnected group of avatars such that a non-connected avatar entering thearea/volume may be connected to the avatar or group of avatars, a leavearea may be a two-dimensional area or three-dimensional volume for agiven avatar or connected group of avatars such that a non-connectedavatar entering the area/volume may exit a connection to the avatar orgroup of avatars. For example, in virtual environment 130, avatar 116may have entered the join area for the conversation between avatars 112and 114. In some embodiments, the system may use the radius-proximitysystem for defining the join area. Additionally or alternatively, thejoin area may be dynamically altered based on a length of time in aconversation, movement of avatars in the conversation, a number ofavatars in the conversation, a size and/or density of the virtualenvironment, etc.

For example, chaining and group-based join areas may introduceadditional problems in some circumstances, especially when the overalldensity of avatars in a given area is high; users with avatars verydistant from each other could be unintuitively and undesirably connectedby an inadvertently formed chain of participants. This may be addressedin a number of ways. Firstly, the number of users who can be connectedtogether may be limited. An additional, larger maximum distance limitcould also be imposed, such that new avatars joining the conversationmust be within the maximum distance of all avatars currently in theconversation in order to join, which may limit the total range of theconnected group. For example, conversation characteristics for aconversation may dynamically change and/or may dynamically change inrelation to each other. For example, one conversation characteristic(e.g., a number of users in a conversation) may affect anotherconversation characteristic (e.g., a distance/size corresponding to ajoin area for the conversation).

Additionally, the proximity radius within which two avatars may be ofeach other in order to initiate a connection between them could beautomatically scaled based on any number of criteria, such as thedimensions of the virtual environment or the density of avatars withinthe space or within a connected group of avatars. For example, havingthe distance between two avatars needed to join a conversation besmaller than the distance needed to leave a conversation can reduce thelikelihood of inadvertently initiating a conversation (an especiallyimportant problem with chaining), while also making it easier to remainin a conversation while moving around once the conversation has beeninitiated (due to the larger “leave distance”). Users can be givenfurther control over the joining and leaving of conversations byincorporating the orientation of the avatar within the virtualenvironment-a single, non-connected avatar might, for example, have asector-shaped join area extending out in front of it, such that it willonly initiate conversations with avatars in the direction it is facing.Considering avatar motion offers additional control-for example, bypreventing any new conversations from being initiated between avatarsthat are currently moving, in order to prevent connections betweengroups of avatars and other single avatars or groups that are just“passing through” an area with no intention of stopping for aconversation.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 1C, avatar 116 may have left the join areaand/or left a leave area for the conversation between avatars 112 and114. As referred to herein, a leave area may be a two-dimensional area(or three-dimensional volume) for a given avatar or group of avatarsconnected to each other in a conversation, such that if an avatar in theconversation moves outside the leave area, the system will disconnectthe avatar from one or more other avatars. For example, the leave areamay be an area that a given avatar must remain within in order to remainconnected to the set of avatars for which the leave area is calculated.In some embodiments, the system may use the radius-proximity system fordefining the leave area. Additionally or alternatively, the join andleave areas may be dynamically altered based on a length of time in aconversation, movement of avatars in the conversation, a number ofavatars in the conversation, a size and/or density of the virtualenvironment, etc. In some embodiments, the leave and join areas formultiple conversations may overlap and the system may apply one or morecriteria for determining which conversation or conversations the avataris to join/leave.

In some embodiments, the system may have distinct “join areas” and“leave areas” for individual avatars. For example, as non-connectedavatars (e.g., avatar 116) move around a virtual environment, the systemchecks whether they (e.g., the first user and the second user) arewithin the “join areas” of each other. If the system determines thatthey (e.g., the first user and the second user) are, the systeminitiates a conversation between them (e.g., the first user and thesecond user). Once two or more avatars are connected in a conversation,the system checks whether they have moved outside the “leave areas” ofeach other and disconnects their conversation if they have.

In some embodiments, connection distances and join/leave areas may bedirection-dependent and/or include auto-scaling. For example, the systemmay first determine a direction at which an avatar is facing and adjustthe connection distances and join/leave areas based on the direction.Additionally or alternatively, the system may determine whether theavatar is turning and/or moving towards or away from a conversationgroup in order to determine whether the user should join/leave. Forexample, the system may first determine a direction at which an avatar(e.g., avatar 116) is facing and adjust the connection distances andjoin/leave areas based on the direction. The system determines a joinand/or leave area scaling factor, wherein the join and/or leave area isa (linear or nonlinear) function of overall avatar density in thevirtual environment.

Another problem with the basic chaining and group-based join areamethods is that, in certain cases, the departure of a single avatar whoserved to connect nearby avatars to each other could undesirably severthe connection between remaining avatars in a conversation. This problemcan be alleviated in several ways. Avatars already connected to oneanother in conversation could be disconnected from each other only ifthey are moving while also meeting other criteria (such as being faraway from each other without a chain/group of avatars in between),meaning that users can remain in conversations initiated via long chainsby simply not moving their avatars. An additional refinement can be madesuch that avatars in this situation can move towards each other (ortoward any member of the remaining group, or toward a calculatedcentroid of the group, etc.) while remaining connected, but not awayfrom each other (or away from any member of the group, a calculatedcentroid, etc.). This allows avatars in conversations initiated by longchains who find themselves far apart from each other but stillconversing to move into a tighter group to continue a conversation,while also maintaining an outside appearance of being in conversationwith one another by being in proximity. Some embodiments cause theavatars in this situation to be moved closer to one anotherautomatically (when an option to do this is enabled) to maintain orrestore the appearance of a group in proximity to one another. A relatedset of features enables avatars to optionally follow one another, makingautomatic movements to maintain proximity (and/or avoid meeting criteriato be disconnected from one another) in response to movements initiatedby user input; this allows avatars to easily move together as part of agroup without becoming disconnected.

In FIG. 1C, avatar 116 has also entered a leave area for the virtualenvironment 140. For example, this leave area is designated by agraphical element (e.g., a staircase). Virtual environments may includeone or more graphic elements to designate additional ways to move,navigate, and/or interact within a virtual environment. For example, astaircase may correspond to an entry/exit path for a virtualenvironment; whereas, a product or storefront may represent a locationwithin the virtual environment at which to access a third party (e.g., avirtual store). Additionally or alternatively, graphical elements may beused to provide computer navigation tools (e.g., a jukebox in a virtualenvironment may allow a user to access music stored on a device). Forexample, in response to detecting the location of avatar 116, the systemhas generated pop-up 126, which provides options for allowing the userto navigate to other virtual environments and/or applications.

The initiation, joining, and leaving of conversations in a physicalsocial environment is often dependent on context and the status oractivities of participants. For example, students might have aconversation while eating lunch between classes; an employee mayapproach a coworker taking a break at the office water cooler for casualconversation, and a person who sees their coworker focused intently on awork task may avoid initiating a potentially distracting conversationwith them. The methods and systems herein described include mechanismsfor a first user’s status and activities to be broadcast to other users,by way of graphics or other indicators associated with the first user’savatar or displayed in a centralized interface visible to the otherusers. This offers contextual information that is helpful in evaluatingwhether to initiate or join a conversation, and potentially suggestinitial topics of conversation or an overall context in which theconversation is being initiated. Status information for each user isderived from their activities in the virtual world (e.g., conversationsor other interactions with other participants, interactions with virtualobjects, tools, games, integrations with external services from withinthe virtual environment, or other activities). For example, aparticipant who just ordered food for delivery by interacting with anobject in the virtual world may be automatically assigned a status“eating lunch from restaurant X,” or a participant streaming musicthrough a virtual jukebox may be assigned the status “listening tomusic.” Each user in the virtual environment may have multiple orcomposite statuses, such as “In a private conversation, listening tomusic, and eating lunch.” Additional status information for eachparticipant may be derived from computer-connected sensors such asmicrophones and cameras. Speech sounds picked up through a microphonemay indicate that the participant is in active conversation, and thesystem may contain additional information such as the emotional tone ofthe participant’s speech. Similarly, computer vision analysis of aparticipant’s webcam feed may yield information about that participant’sfacial expression or emotional status. Computer vision analysis of auser’s webcam images may also indicate that user’s activity in the realworld (e.g., eating, talking, away from computer), which can then bebroadcast as a status in the In the user interface for virtual world, t.he status indicators may take the form of text, icons, or other graphicsassociated with individual avatars/users in some way, withstatus-indicating graphics possibly in proximity to the respectiveusers’ avatars and/or possibly collected in a separate centralizedinterface. In some embodiments, a user’s facial expression predicted bycomputer vision analysis of their webcam images may be represented as afacial expression visible on their avatar and/or as an emoji or otheremotional status indicator visible on or near the avatar or in aseparate centralized interface. In some embodiments, other aspects of auser’s status may be reflected in the appearance or behavior of theiravatar. For example, the avatar of a user who is eating might display aneating animation. In addition to inferred or automatically detectedaspects of a user’s status, in some embodiments, the user may also beable to deliberately set or modify their status or elements of it thatwill be displayed to other users. Additionally, aspects of a user’sstatus may be reflected in aspects of the webcam and microphone feedfrom that user. For example, in some embodiments, if computer visionanalysis of a user’s webcam feed suggests that the user is not presentlynear their webcam or attending to their device, that user’s microphonemay be muted and/or their webcam feed turned off, such that other userscannot see or hear images and sounds picked up by their device.

In some embodiments, the system may automatically select avatars basedon certain statuses (e.g., with certain settings, status indicators,etc.). For example, the system may receive a user selection of a groupof avatars, such that any avatars that are inside the selected areaand/or do not have the status “busy” are selected for some furtheraction (e.g., initiation of a private meeting). Similarly, the systemmay apply statuses to connection criteria (e.g., a user’s statusdetermines their join area (e.g., if they are “busy” or “doing deepwork”, the system reduces their join area), so an avatar would need tobe right next to them to start a conversation (to avoid distracting themunless really necessary). In another example, the system may allowexternal control to be exerted on any avatar that has a given status(e.g., “waiting for meeting,” “waiting for instructions,” etc.).

For example, some social interactions in the physical world take placearound purchasing behaviors, such as buying food from a restaurant orbrowsing items in a store. While facilitating virtual worlds withcluster-based video conferencing, the methods and systems describedherein enable purchasing behaviors and interactions surrounding thesepurchasing behaviors to take place within the virtual environment andvideo conferencing environment. For example, a group of users mightenter a virtual store (using their avatars) representing a real businessand containing various items for purchase, represented visually asgraphics. They would gain all of the benefits of a proximity video chat(such as talking with each other and with staff of the store who mayhave their avatars present, and exploring the store’s offerings in avisually engaging way), but would also be able to initiate purchaseswith the external business directly through the virtual store. If afirst avatar interacts with an item in the virtual store and receivesadditional information about it, that information may, in someembodiments, also be made visible to other users who are connected tothe first user in conversation. As another example, a group of userscould enter a virtual restaurant corresponding to a real restaurant orrestaurant chain. The virtual environment could provide a pleasingenvironment (e.g., music audible to any users with avatars in therestaurant, appropriate visuals surrounding the avatars, a virtual tablefor the avatars to sit at), and allow the users to place food orders fordelivery directly from within the virtual restaurant. When the food isdelivered to each user, virtual representations of the food each userordered could be displayed on the virtual table at which the avatars aresitting-and the avatars could begin displaying eating animations,possibly initiated or influenced by computer vision analysis of userwebcam images. In other contexts, such as a virtual office, users mayaccess food ordering services (for example) by interacting with specificvisual entities, such as a virtual refrigerator or virtual boothrepresenting a food delivery service. A similar pattern of replicatingshared visual and auditory experiences involved in purchasing behaviorsamong connected avatars could be replicated for a variety of goods andservices interactions, such as rideshares, supermarkets, and retailstores. For user groups associated with an employer or organization,purchases made using the platform could be linked to a reimbursementsystem-for example, employees could be enabled to easily makework-related purchases from within a virtual workplace that would beautomatically reimbursed. Additional integrations could enable deliveryof value from external businesses directly through the app. For example,interacting with a virtual television could lead to integration withentertainment streaming services, enabling users engaged in video chatto watch movies and television as a group-with avatars connected to eachother in conversation by the criteria described herein sharing a view ofentertainment content. As another example, interacting with virtualheadphones or a virtual speaker could trigger integrations with musicstreaming services, such that background music can be streamed into thevirtual environment for one or more users to listen to-with users whoare connected to one another in conversation sharing an audio stream ofmusic or other audio-based content.

FIG. 2 shows another illustrative virtual environment for simulatingin-person interactions, in accordance with one or more embodiments.Virtual environment 200, which is displayed in a web interface, showsavatar 202 for user 208 (represented in a video mosaic). Additionally,virtual environment 200 includes other features for allowing users tonavigate a virtual environment and communicate with other users. Forexample, virtual environment 200 includes status bar 204, whichdescribes the status of users within virtual environment 200. Forexample, status bar 204 may indicate the users that are in aconversation and/or present in virtual environment 200. Status bar 204may also provide calendar and activity information for one or moreusers.

Virtual environment 200 also includes chat box 206. Chat box 206 mayallow users to discuss activities with one or more groups, share/presentdocuments, and/or provide one or more other functions in virtualenvironment 200. It should be noted that virtual environment 200 mayinclude additional pop-up and/or menu options that may be selected by auser. Additionally, one or more of these pop-ups or menus may movearound the screen based on a location of avatar 202 or other menus(e.g., in order to not block a user’s view).

In some embodiments, virtual environment 200 may provide forbroadcasting to all users. For example, one or more users’ webcam/audiofeeds may be made visible to all (or a large subset of) users who haveavatars in one or more virtual environments, with or without a multi-wayconnection, such that the broadcaster(s) are shown the webcam/audiofeeds of the users they are broadcasting to. For example, as opposed toconventional systems that allow broadcasting to a single virtual room orvirtual environment, the present system may broadcast to avatars in twoor more separate virtual environments simultaneously.

In some embodiments, a user may use on-screen menus to initiate privateconversations. For example, one potential problem with avatar videoconferencing is the need for private conversations that users notinitially included cannot join or can join only by sending a request tothose already participating in the conversation. With no privateconversation options, it would be possible for a user’s avatar to enterany conversation within a virtual environment by moving to within rangeof a group of other avatars or it might be possible for the avatar tojoin a conversation without warning by joining the virtual world at thatlocation, “teleporting” to the location of one of the participants,joining via a long contiguous chain of avatars, etc. Existing solutionsto this problem typically involve designated regions or structures of avirtual environment for private conversations, such as virtualconference rooms, booths, or dining tables. These solutions are limitedin two ways. First, it is sometimes desirable to quickly initiate aprivate conversation without avatars having to travel to a designatedlocation. Second, there may be a limited number of designated areas forprivate conversation in a virtual world with many participants.

In some embodiments, a user may manually select, one by one, a set ofavatars in their immediate vicinity (for example, by clicking or tappingthe avatars). One or more additional buttons or controls initiates aprivate conversation with these participants. In some embodiments, a setof avatars is automatically selected by virtue of being included in thepresent conversation with a user. The user may select a single button orother control to “convert” the current conversation to a privateconversation. In some embodiments, a user may draw a shape on a devicescreen (using a mouse, stylus, or other input device) that surrounds asubset of avatars who will be selected to be included in a privateconversation. The drawn shape may have preset properties with controlsto transform its dimensions (e.g., an ellipse), or it may be freeform.Freeform drawn shapes may still complete a selection if the shape is notfully enclosed-for example, a straight or curved line may be inferredbetween the two ends of the drawn line to complete the shape withinwhich avatars will be selected. In some embodiments, a user can draw afreeform line such that any avatars that the line touches (or passeswithin some threshold distance of) will be included in the selection.

It should be noted that these embodiments of selecting participants arenot limited to the initiation of private conversations and may be usedto select a set of avatars for any purpose in the virtual environment.For example, a set of avatars could be selected to be transported toanother virtual location, to be included in a game or other activity inthe virtual environment, to be invited to an event, to be sent amessage, to be requested to follow the avatar of the user making theselection, etc.

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative system diagram for simulating in-personinteractions, in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown inFIG. 3 , system 300 may include client device 302, client device 304, orother components. Each of client devices 302 and 304 may include anytype of mobile terminal, fixed terminal, or other device. Each of thesedevices may receive content and data via input/output (hereinafter“I/O”) paths and may also include processors and/or control circuitry tosend and receive commands, requests, and other suitable data using theI/O paths. The control circuitry may comprise any suitable processingcircuitry. Each of these devices may also include a user input interfaceand/or display for use in receiving and displaying data. By way ofexample, client devices 302 and 304 may include a desktop computer, aserver, or other client device. Users may, for instance, utilize one ormore client devices 302 and 304 to interact with one another, one ormore servers, or other components of system 300. It should be notedthat, while one or more operations are described herein as beingperformed by particular components of system 300, those operations may,in some embodiments, be performed by other components of system 300. Asan example, while one or more operations are described herein as beingperformed by components of client device 302, those operations may, insome embodiments, be performed by components of client device 304. Itshould be noted that, although some embodiments are described hereinwith respect to machine learning models, other prediction models (e.g.,statistical models or other analytics models) may be used in lieu of orin addition to machine learning models in other embodiments (e.g., astatistical model replacing a machine learning model and anon-statistical model replacing a non-machine-learning model in one ormore embodiments).

Each of these devices may also include memory in the form of electronicstorage. The electronic storage may include non-transitory storage mediathat electronically stores information. The electronic storage media ofthe electronic storages may include one or both of (i) system storagethat is provided integrally (e.g., substantially non-removable) withservers or client devices or (ii) removable storage that is removablyconnectable to the servers or client devices via, for example, a port(e.g., a USB port, a firewire port, etc.) or a drive (e.g., a diskdrive, etc.). The electronic storages may include one or more ofoptically readable storage media (e.g., optical disks, etc.),magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape, magnetic harddrive, floppy drive, etc.), electrical charge-based storage media (e.g.,EEPROM, RAM, etc.), solid-state storage media (e.g., flash drive, etc.),and/or other electronically readable storage media. The electronicstorages may include one or more virtual storage resources (e.g., cloudstorage, a virtual private network, and/or other virtual storageresources). The electronic storage may store software algorithms,information determined by the processors, information obtained fromservers, information obtained from client devices, or other informationthat enables the functionality as described herein.

FIG. 3 also includes communication paths 308, 310, and 312.Communication paths 308, 310, and 312 may include the internet, a mobilephone network, a mobile voice or data network (e.g., a 4G or LTEnetwork), a cable network, a public switched telephone network, or othertypes of communications network or combinations of communicationsnetworks. Communication paths 308, 310, and 312 may separately ortogether include one or more communication paths, such as a satellitepath, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, a path that supports internetcommunications (e.g., IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcastor other wireless signals), or any other suitable wired or wirelesscommunications path or combination of such paths. The computing devicesmay include additional communication paths linking a plurality ofhardware, software, and/or firmware components operating together. Forexample, the computing devices may be implemented by a cloud ofcomputing platforms operating together as the computing devices.

In some embodiments, system 300 may use one or more predictions todetermine characteristics for simulating virtual embodiments (e.g.,whether a user should join or leave a conversation in a virtualenvironment, a size of a join area, one or more connectioncharacteristics, one or more conversation initiation criteria, etc.).For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , system 300 may determine whether auser (or a group of users) meets one or more criteria using server 322.The determination may be output (e.g., video mosaic 102 (FIG. 1 )) onclient device 304. The system may also use one or more machine learningmodels such one or more neural networks (e.g., as discussed in relationto FIGS. 4-5 ) or other machine learning models.

As an example, with respect to FIG. 3 , server 322 may take inputs 324and provide outputs 326. The inputs may include multiple data sets suchas a training data set and a test data set. The system may collect dataconcerning avatar position and movement; mouse position, movement, andclicking actions; and/or eye tracking using computer vision analysis ofwebcam images from use of an avatar-based video conferencing system witha rules-based framework (e.g., one of the other methods describedherein) to be used as training data. The data sets may representcharacteristics of users and/or avatars in virtual environments as wellas characteristics of users outside of the virtual environment (e.g.,collected from a user profile of past user history). For example, thedata may be labeled for supervised learning (e.g., a human labelervisualizes the data and indicates which connections should be made atwhich times) or unlabeled for unsupervised learning. In the case ofsupervised learning, a machine learning algorithm, such as a deep neuralnetwork or recurrent neural network, compares its output tohuman-generated labels during the training process. In unsupervisedlearning, during the training process, the machine learning modelcompares its avatar connectedness output (e.g., which avatarssuccessfully connected) to a future state of avatar connectedness (e.g.,which avatars are connected to each other several seconds after thecurrent time point), attempting to predict the connections that will beinitiated by subsequent movements of the avatars within whateverrules-based connection/disconnection framework is being used (e.g., whatavatar actions lead to a successful connection). In some embodiments,prediction of future connections by machine learning or other methodsmay be used to load potential connections in advance (with or withoutnotifying the user of this prediction and preparation) in order toreduce perceived latency of the connection being initiated at the timethe connection is initiated in earnest.

For example, the system may predict what connections might take place inthe near future (e.g. using ML, the trajectory of avatars moving towardseach other or each other’s join areas, or a slightly larger “pre-joinarea” surrounding the actual join area) and then begins the process ofinitiating the video/audio connection in advance (e.g., withoutnecessarily displaying these for the users) so that the actualconnection appears to happen instantaneously when the connectioncriteria are met (otherwise, there is latency as the connection isinitiated). For example, the system may anticipate loading one or moreassets, content, and/or configuration files in order to allow forseamless webcam interactions. In some embodiments, the system maypre-fetch data files and/or user settings in order to provide theseamless webcam interactions.

In one use case, outputs 326 may be fed back to server 322 as input totrain a machine learning model (e.g., alone or in conjunction with userindications of the accuracy of outputs 326, labels associated with theinputs, or other reference feedback information). In another use case,the machine learning model may update its configurations (e.g., weights,biases, or other parameters) based on its assessment of its prediction(e.g., outputs 326) and reference feedback information (e.g., userindication of accuracy, reference labels, or other information). Inanother use case, where the machine learning model is a neural network,connection weights may be adjusted to reconcile differences between theneural network’s prediction and the reference feedback. In a further usecase, one or more neurons (or nodes) of the neural network may requirethat their respective errors be sent backward through the neural networkto them to facilitate the update process (e.g., backpropagation oferror). Updates to the connection weights may, for example, bereflective of the magnitude of error propagated backward after a forwardpass has been completed. In this way, for example, the machine learningmodel may be trained to generate better predictions.

For example, the system may use supervised learning (e.g., featuringlabeled data) or unsupervised learning for determining whether tojoin/leave a group. The system may use a machine learning algorithm todetermine the connection matrix among avatars resulting in avatarsjoining/leaving conversations. The system may use a machine learningalgorithm to determine the connection matrix among avatars, with imposedconstraints based on the other methods described herein-for example,there may only be a possibility of an avatar joining a conversation ifit is within the join radius of one of the already connected avatars oris within the join area of the conversation, etc.-once this minimumcriterion is met, the machine learning algorithm makes the finaldecision to connect or not (other constraints may be imposed on thedecision to disconnect an avatar from a current conversation).

System 300 also includes API layer 350. In some embodiments, API layer350 may be implemented on client device 302 or client device 304.Alternatively or additionally, API layer 350 may reside on one or morecloud components 314. API layer 350 (which may be a REST or web servicesAPI layer) may provide a decoupled interface to data and/orfunctionality of one or more applications. API layer 350 may provide acommon, language-agnostic way of interacting with an application. Webservices APIs offer a well-defined contract, called WSDL, that describesthe services in terms of its operations and the data types used toexchange information. REST APIs do not typically have this contract;instead, they are documented with client libraries for most commonlanguages, including Ruby, Java, PHP, and JavaScript. SOAP web serviceshave traditionally been adopted in the enterprise for publishinginternal services, as well as for exchanging information with partnersin B2B transactions.

API layer 350 may use various architectural arrangements. For example,system 300 may be partially based on API layer 350, such that there isstrong adoption of SOAP and RESTful Web services, using resources likeService Repository and Developer Portal, but with low governance,standardization, and separation of concerns. Alternatively, system 300may be fully based on API layer 350, such that separation of concernsbetween layers like API layer 350, services, and applications is inplace.

In some embodiments, the system architecture may use a microserviceapproach. Such systems may use two types of layers-front-end layer andback-end layer-where microservices reside; . In this kind ofarchitecture, the role of the API layer 350 may provide integrationbetween the front-end layer and back-end layer. In such cases, API layer350 may use RESTful APIs (exposition to front-end layer or evencommunication between microservices). API layer 350 may use AMQP (e.g.,Kafka, RabbitMQ, etc.). API layer 350 may use incipient usage of newcommunications protocols such as gRPC, Thrift, etc.

In some embodiments, the system architecture may use an open APIapproach. In such cases, API layer 350 may use commercial or open sourceAPI platforms and their modules. API layer 350 may use a developerportal. API layer 350 may use strong security constraints applying WAFand DDoS protection, and API layer 350 may use RESTful APIs as astandard for external integration.

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative system diagram for simulating in-personinteractions, in accordance with one or more embodiments. For example,in some embodiments, the system may use “conversation group inference,”which is determined based on one or more machine learning and/or deeplearning models. For example, the system may use a recurrent neuralnetwork (e.g., as described in FIG. 5 ), deep reinforcement learning, orother machine learning algorithm (e.g., as described in FIG. 3 ) topredict which avatars a given avatar should be connected with in a videoconferencing session. As described herein, this system may be trained onpreviously collected data (e.g., characteristics) about avatar positionand movements and how users adjusted their avatars’ position to achievethe desired set of avatars in a conversation, and/or human-generatedlabels accompanying such data. Machine learning, in this context, mayenable conversations to be initiated and disconnected in ways that aremore in line with users’ intentions, including ways that might bedifficult to capture with the rules-based approaches also describedherein.

Model 400 illustrates an artificial neural network. Model 400 includesinput layer 402. User characteristics may be entered into model 400 atthis level. Model 400 also includes one or more hidden layers (e.g.,hidden layer 404 and hidden layer 406). Model 400 may be based on alarge collection of neural units (or artificial neurons). Model 400loosely mimics the manner in which a biological brain works (e.g., vialarge clusters of biological neurons connected by axons). Each neuralunit of model 400 may be connected with many other neural units of model400. Such connections can be enforcing or inhibitory in their effect onthe activation state of connected neural units. In some embodiments,each individual neural unit may have a summation function that combinesthe values of all of its inputs together. In some embodiments, eachconnection (or the neural unit itself) may have a threshold functionthat the signal must surpass before it propagates to other neural units.Model 400 may be self-learning and trained, rather than explicitlyprogrammed, and can perform significantly better in certain areas ofproblem solving, as compared to traditional computer programs. Duringtraining, output layer 408 may correspond to a classification of model400 (e.g., whether a given user characteristic corresponds to joining orleaving a group) and an input known to correspond to that classificationmay be input into input layer 402. In some embodiments, model 400 mayinclude multiple layers (e.g., where a signal path traverses from frontlayers to back layers). In some embodiments, backpropagation techniquesmay be utilized by model 400 where forward stimulation is used to resetweights on the “front” neural units. In some embodiments, stimulationand inhibition for model 400 may be more free-flowing, with connectionsinteracting in a more chaotic and complex fashion. Model 400 alsoincludes output layer 408. During testing, output layer 408 may indicatewhether a given input corresponds to a classification of model 400(e.g., whether a user wishes to join or leave a group).

FIG. 4 also includes model 450, which is a convolutional neural network.The convolutional neural network is an artificial neural network thatfeatures one or more convolutional layers. Convolutional layers extractfeatures from an input image. Convolution preserves the relationshipbetween pixels by learning image features using small squares of inputdata-for example, the relationship of a location of one or more avatarson screen and/or their relationship to each other. As shown in model450, input layer 452 may proceed to convolution blocks 454 and 456before being output to convolutional output 460. In some embodiments,model 450 may itself serve as an input to model 400.

In some embodiments, model 450 may implement an inverted residualstructure where the input and output of a residual block (e.g., block454) are thin bottleneck layers. A residual layer may feed into the nextlayer and directly into layers that are one or more layers downstream. Abottleneck layer (e.g., block 458) is a layer that contains few neuralunits compared to the previous layers. Model 450 may use a bottlenecklayer to obtain a representation of the input with reduceddimensionality. An example of this is the use of autoencoders withbottleneck layers for nonlinear dimensionality reduction. Additionally,model 450 may remove non-linearities in a narrow layer (e.g., block 458)in order to maintain representational power. In some embodiments, thedesign of model 450 may also be guided by the metric of computationalcomplexity (e.g., the number of floating-point operations). In someembodiments, model 450 may increase the feature map dimension at allunits to involve as many locations as possible instead of sharplyincreasing the feature map dimensions at neural units that performdownsampling. In some embodiments, model 450 may decrease the depth andincrease the width of residual layers in the downstream direction.

In some embodiments, model 400 or model 450 may be a Siamese neuralnetwork (e.g., model 490) that uses the same weights while working intandem on two different input vectors to compute comparable outputvectors. For example, in a Siamese artificial neural network, model 400may include two convolutional neural networks (e.g., two of model 450)that are not two different networks but are two copies of the samenetwork (e.g., model 450). For example, two inputs may pass throughmodel 490 to generate a fixed-length feature vector for each input. Ifthe two inputs belong to the same classification (e.g., whether a usershould join or leave a group), then their feature vectors will also besimilar; while if the two inputs have different classifications, thentheir feature vectors will be different. The system may then generate asimilarity score generated by an output sigmoid layer (e.g., layer 470)to detect and predict a classification. Furthermore, as one illustrativeexample of the algorithm used, the system may rely on a Siamese neuralnetwork and/or other neural network that uses the same or similarweights while working on two different input vectors to computecomparable output vectors, typically in tandem.

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative architecture of a machine learning model,in accordance with one or more embodiments. For example, FIG. 5 showsmodel 500, a recurrent neural network, which is a class of artificialneural networks where connections between nodes form a directed graphalong a temporal sequence. This allows it to exhibit temporal dynamicbehavior. For example, in the present case, the system may determinecharacteristics that have a temporal element such as whether two avatarsare moving closer together, whether two users are already engaged in aconversation, whether detected keywords in a conversation of usersindicates the users are about to leave, etc. Model 500 may be used toclassify user characteristics as corresponding to a given classification(e.g., a user wishing to join a group).

In model 500, a network of neuron-like nodes are organized intosuccessive layers (e.g., layers 504, 506, and 508). Each node in a givenlayer is connected with a directed (one-way) connection to every othernode in the next successive layer. Each node has a time-varyingreal-valued activation, and each connection has a modifiable real-valuedweight. Nodes are either input nodes (receiving data from outside of thenetwork), output nodes (yielding results), or hidden nodes (that modifythe data as it moves from input to output). For supervised learning indiscrete time settings, sequences of real-valued input vectors arrive atthe input nodes, one vector at a time. At any given time step, eachnon-input unit computes its current activation (result) as a nonlinearfunction of the weighted sum of the activations of all units thatconnect to it. Supervisor-given target activations can be supplied forsome output units at certain time steps. For example, if the inputsequence is a speech signal corresponding to a spoken digit, the finaltarget output at the end of the sequence may be a label classifying thedigit. In reinforcement learning settings, no teacher provides targetsignals. Instead, a fitness function or reward function is occasionallyused to evaluate model 500′s performance, which influences its inputstream through output units connected to actuators that affect theenvironment. Each sequence produces an error as the sum of thedeviations of all target signals from the corresponding activationscomputed by the network. For a training set of numerous sequences, thetotal error is the sum of the errors of all individual sequences.

FIGS. 6A-D show illustrative diagrams related to join areas for avatars,in accordance with one or more embodiments. For example, the system maygenerate join areas, which may comprise areas about an avatar that maybe used to determine whether or not the avatar is connected with anotheravatar and/or conversation. In some embodiments, virtual environmentsmay be divided into portions or cells, and a join area may be defined(or defined in part) by the portion or cell. For example, the system maydetermine a grid map of a virtual environment, wherein the grid mapdefines a plurality of cells that comprise the virtual environmentand/or one or more cell properties (e.g., indicating whether or not acell may be included in a join area) for each cell of the plurality ofcells. The system may determine a subset of cells in the grid map thatcomprise a join area based on a position, a join area criterion, and/orthe one or more cell properties for each of the plurality of cells inthe grid map.

For example, as shown in diagram 600 of FIG. 6A, a join area for anavatar may comprise a given area of an avatar based on the avatar’sposition. The join area may extend for some distance. The distance maybe in one direction (e.g., corresponding to the trajectory of theavatar) or the distance may be equal in all directions (e.g., a radialdistance about the avatar). The distance may also be reduced based onenvironment rules (e.g., indicating an object or wall that obstructs thejoin area in one direction). For example, in radius-proximity systems,the connection distance is roughly uniform regardless of the directionan avatar is facing, creating something resembling a “connection circle”around each avatar within which another avatar must go in order toconnect to that avatar. For example, the connection distance may be afunction of the angle relative to the direction in which the avatar isfacing, creating a variably shaped “join area” in the vicinity of theavatar. In some embodiments, the connection distance may be constant(e.g., in one direction or all directions). However, a uniform join areamay be counterinitiative to a user as users in real-life do not enterconversations occurring behind them.

Accordingly, the system may use non-uniform join areas. For example, foreach non-connected avatar, the system may determine whether any otheravatar is within the join distance (which may also be a “join shape” or“join area”), which is a function of angle relative to the direction theavatar is facing. If so, the system connects the avatars in aconversation. For each connected avatar, check whether other avatarsconnected to it remain within the leave distance of the first avatar(or, “leave shape” or “leave area”) - if not, disconnect theconversation. In some embodiments, the join shape/area or leaveshape/area may be an arbitrary shape or volume in 2D or 3D space.

In some embodiments, the join area may feature different distances indifferent directions. For example, as shown in diagram 610, the distancemay be larger in the direction the avatar is facing or moving.Alternatively or additionally, the distance may extend in all directions(or one or more directions) about the avatar, but have a length based onthe trajectory of the user as shown in diagram 620.

For example, the system may determine that a join distance (e.g., for afirst user) is the same as, or separate from, a leave distance, and oneor both of which are a function of angle relative to the direction theavatar (e.g., a first user) is facing. The system may determine that ajoin and/or leave distance is a function of angle, such that the join orleave distance in front of the avatar (e.g., the direction the avatar(e.g., of a first user) is facing) is larger than the join or leavedistance behind the avatar. The system may determine that a first avatar(e.g., first user) must be within the join area of a second avatar(e.g., second user), and in which that second avatar must also be withinthe join area of the first avatar, in order to establish a connectionbetween them. The system may determine that a first avatar must bewithin the join area of a second avatar (or vice versa) to initiate aconnection between them, without a requirement for them both to bewithin each others’ join areas.

For example, users can initiate or leave conversations based on thedirection their avatars are facing, rather than only the distancebetween their avatar and others - this gives users more control overtheir joining and leaving behavior. Enabling conversations to beinitiated at longer distances in front of the user’s avatar mirrors aphenomenon in the physical world where conversations are easier toinitiate when one is facing toward another person than facing away fromthem - because our mouths are on the front of our heads and sound tendsto project forward (visual cues also play a role). Having the joindistance in front of the avatar be larger than that behind or to theside of the avatar preferentially includes avatars that the avatar ismoving towards (a behavior which may be naturally related to a desire toinitiate a conversation with those avatars) when the avatar is inmotion.

The join area may also change based on interactions with other avatarsand based on whether or not an avatar is engaged in a conversation. Forexample, as shown by join area 630 of FIG. 6B, an avatar may have a joinarea that comprises a radial proximity about a user. However, when theavatar connects to another avatar (e.g., in a conversation), the joinarea may increase as a function of the number of avatars in theconversation and/or the positions of the avatars in the conversation asshown by join area 632. For example, join area 632 may represent aconversation join area for a conversation between two avatars. The areaand shape of join area 632 may be based on center point of join area 632(which itself may be based on a position of the avatars in join area632).

The system may iteratively increase the size of a join area based on anumber of avatars that have joined a conversation. For example, as shownin FIG. 6B, join area 634 has increased in size as an additional avatarhas joined the conversation. In contrast, as avatars leave theconversation, the size of the join area may be reduced. For example,join area 636 and join area 638 may be smaller than join area 634.

For example, the minimum distance between avatars needed to initiate ormaintain a conversation (or a scaling factor of a non-circularjoin/leave area) may be scaled automatically based on the density ofavatars and/or other criteria. For example, the connection distance/areasize may be automatically modified to suit different contexts and avatardensities, possibly with some modulating input from users. The systemmay use auto-scaling connection distances/area sizes to replicate aphenomenon in the physical world where close proximity might be neededfor a conversation in a crowded environment, but a conversation withmore spread-out participants might be feasible in a more sparselypopulated area. In a crowded environment, it may not be desirable toinitiate a conversation with more distant participants because ofconfusion regarding who an individual is addressing. Conversely, in asparsely populated environment, it may not be desirable to requireextremely close proximity between avatars to initiate a conversation,because this may be unintuitive and/or visually unappealing. Withoutauto-scaling, join/leave areas might feel too small or too large for agiven setting/density of avatars - leading to difficulty initiatingconversations in sparsely populated environments, and difficult avoidinginadvertent connections in a densely populated environment. Auto-scalingjoin/leave areas helps ameliorate a problem with chaining, such thatunwanted connections are inadvertently created in a crowded environment,which may then lead to even more unwanted connections.

For example, the system may determine a join and/or leave area scalingfactor, wherein the join and/or leave area is a (linear or nonlinear)function of overall avatar density in the virtual environment.Alternatively or additionally, the system may determine a join and/orleave area scaling factor as a function of avatar density in one area ofa virtual environment, such as the virtual room a user is in or thecurrent area visible on a user’s screen. Alternatively or additionally,the system may determine a join and/or leave area scaling factor as afunction of avatar density within a conversation to be joined/left.Alternatively or additionally, the system may determine a join and/orleave area scaling factor is a function of any combination.Alternatively or additionally, the system may determine a join and/orleave area scaling factor as a function of any combination of the above,and also a one or more user preferences relating to join and/or leavearea size. For example, a user may select an ordinal “large”, “medium”,or “small” join or leave area, select values on a continuous scale, ornominal join/leave area sizes and/or shapes designed for specificcontexts, such as “classroom small groups” or “cocktail party.” The userpreference for join/leave area size may be set by individual users, by agroup of users (e.g., all those in a conversation), or by a manager of avirtual environment or part of a virtual environment. Alternatively oradditionally, the system may determine a scaling factor range limit (orminimum/maximum join/leave area size) beyond which the join/leave areais not permitted to scale automatically (e.g., creating a conversationjoin area that is not too small and/or not too large).

In some embodiments, the system may predict future connections in orderto prepare these connections in advance to reduce perceived connectionlatency once the predicted connections are to be fully initiated.Prediction methods could include machine learning, statistical, orrule-based methods, including enlarged or modified versions of joinareas (“pre-join areas”) used for proximity-based prediction of futureconnections.

In some embodiments, the system may generate indicators (e.g., “joinindicators”) that indicate conversations that may be joined (or may notbe joined). The join indicators may appear on a user interfacecorresponding to an avatar that is not in a conversation. Alternativelyor additionally, the system may generate join indicators on userinterfaces of all users in a virtual environment. Through the use ofjoin indicators, users may be able to determine which conversations areavailable and which conversations they will join.

For example, as shown in diagram 640 of FIG. 6C, an avatar (e.g.,corresponding to join area 642) is approaching two other join areas(e.g., join area 646 and join area 644). Join area 646 and join area 644may comprise two distinct conversations. Furthermore, by navigatingbetween them, as shown in diagram 650, an avatar’s join area may overlaptwo different conversations. The system may generate a join indicator(e.g., join indicator 652) that indicates to a user that the avatar hasentered a conversation join area (e.g., conversation join area 654) fora conversation. Furthermore, the system may switch the indicator amongdifferent conversations. The user may then select which conversation tojoin. It should be noted that a join indicator may comprise any visual,audio, textual, and/or graphic distinction that allows a user todistinguish between different joining options.

In some embodiments, the join indicator may be dynamically generatedand/or change based on current conditions. For example, as shown in FIG.6D, as avatar 660 approaches a conversation join area, an indicator(e.g., appearing as a video feed of the user corresponding to avatar660) may graphically alter by increasing in size. Additionally oralternatively, the user corresponding to avatar 660 may view of hearaspects of various conversations (e.g., with different conversationcharacteristics). For example, the user corresponding to avatar 660 mayhear a conversation’s audio at a low level to simulating walking into areal-life conversation. Upon joining a conversation, the system maymodify the conversation characteristics (e.g., give the user full audioand video information). Additionally or alternatively, the system mayremove the join indicator for the user corresponding to avatar 660 onall other user interfaces (e.g., user interfaces of users not party tothe conversation).

In some embodiments, all avatars connected to one another are connectedto the same set of avatars. For example, if a first avatar is connectedto a second avatar, and the second avatar is connected to a thirdavatar, the first avatar is be connected to third avatar. In thismethod, a conversation join area is generated based on the positions ofall avatars in a conversation, such that any non-connected avatar thatenters the join area will join the conversation and be connected to allavatars in that conversation. The join area may be recalculateddynamically, by the system, based on the movement of connected avatarsin the corresponding conversation, and when avatars join or leave theconversation. For example, the system may calculate the properties of atwo-dimensional shape based on the positions of all avatars currently ina given conversation. As avatars not in the conversation move about thevirtual environment, the system may check whether they have passedwithin this two-dimensional shape - if they have, the system connectsthem to the conversation.

For example, the system may generate a custom conversation join shapethat is smaller than the large and irregular effective join shapecreated by all of the avatars’ proximity radii in a conversation, makingit more difficult to inadvertently join a conversation. The shape can becalculated to reflect the overall shape of a group of avatars inconversation, leading to an intuitive mechanic where a non-connectedavatar must enter the rough shape formed by the participating avatars ofthe conversation in order to join. The shape can also be displayedexplicitly as a shape projected on the floor of the virtual world,providing a helpful and visually pleasing representation of the area anon-connected avatar must enter to join a conversation. This solves thetechnical problem in preventing partially overlapping conversations.Additionally, it may be needed to help solve a technical problem withchaining where it is too easy to inadvertently join a conversation witha large number of participants.

The system may use various techniques to calculate the conversation joinarea. For example, the system may determine that the conversation joinarea is a convex hull polygon surrounding all of the avatars in a group,generated by one of many algorithms such as Graham’s scan as describedin Graham, Ronald L. “An efficient algorithm for determining the convexhull of a finite planar set.” Info. Pro. Lett. 1 (1972): 132-133, whichis hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The system maydetermine that the conversation join area is a concave hull polygonsurrounding all of the avatars in the group, generated by one of manyalgorithms such as α-concave hull as described in Asaeedi, Saeed, FarzadDidehvar, and Ali Mohades. “α-Concave hull, a generalization of convexhull.” Theoretical Computer Science 702 (2017): 48-59, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

The system may also use parameters dictating the degree of concavityallowed in the chosen shape (e.g., the alpha parameter in α-concavehull) may be constant or auto-scaled based on factors such as localavatar density or density of avatars in the conversation and/or virtualenvironment.

The system may determine that the conversation join area is a polygongenerated by either of the above methods, with rounded corners (e.g.,using Bezier curves) or following some other smoothing operation. Thesystem may determine that the conversation join area is scaled in sizeby a scaling factor (e.g., total size multiplied by 1.1, such that asmall area outside each outlying avatar is included, or by 0.9, suchthat outlying avatars are excluded from the join area while stillremaining in the conversation).

The system may determine that the conversation join area is scaled up ordown in size by an amount such that the edges of the polygon do not passwithin a minimum fixed distance of outlying avatars that formed verticesof the original polygon. The fixed distance can be enforced to create apolygon smaller or larger than the original polygon by the fixed amount.

The system may determine that the conversation join area is a circle orellipse with a center calculated by some measure of central tendency(such as the mean (“centroid”) or median of all avatar x values and meanor median of all y values in a cartesian system), and a size,eccentricity, and orientation based on measures of spread around themeasure of central tendency (such as multiples of a calculated standarddistance, which may be a two-dimensional equivalent of a standarddeviation, to form a circle, or ellipses generated by principalcomponent analysis).

The system may determine that the conversation join area shape is thetotal area covered by all of the participants’ initial join shapes (asin chaining), but with some modification to the join shapes, which mayor may not depend on their position within the conversation or otherfactors such as the number or spatial density of avatars in theconversation or surrounding area. For example, avatars’ initial joinshapes may be scaled down in size by some factor once they are in aconversation. As another example, avatars’ initial conversation joinarea shapes may be scaled in size by a factor linearly or nonlinearlydependent on their distance from a point calculated by a measure ofcentral tendency of the conversation as a whole (e.g., centroid),possibly such that more outlying avatars in the conversation have morescaled-down join shapes that contribute to the conversation’s overalljoin shape.

In some embodiments, if only two avatars are in a conversation, aconversation join area shape may be composed of the combinedinitial/independent join areas of the two avatars (which may be circles,or distance as a function of angle relative to direction facing asdetailed below, etc. other shapes for individual avatars) or an ellipsewith foci at the positions of the two avatars.

In some embodiments, the system may set a maximum dimension of theconversation join area such that it is limited in size by an absolute orautoscaling value (e.g., scaled by size of virtual environment or avatardensity within the virtual environment or the present conversation) orby instituting a time delay to join, such that a first avatar may beconnected to a group of avatars only after staying within the group’sjoin area for a certain amount of time. The amount of time needed may bea function of the avatars in the group. This makes it less likely thatan avatar will inadvertently connect to a large group of avatars, if itis only briefly within the join area.

FIGS. 7A-C show illustrative diagrams related to avatar connectionsbased on motion, in accordance with one or more embodiments. Forexample, the system may monitor the motion of avatars in the virtualenvironment, and initiative conversations only in instances when themotion of an avatar indicates that a connection is likely wanted.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, an avatar may remain in motion throughthe join area of another avatar (e.g., as shown in diagram 700) withoutinitiating a conversation. However, if the avatar stops in the join area(e.g., the velocity of the avatar is zero) as shown in diagram 710, thesystem may initiate a conversation as shown in diagram 720.

For example, the system may determine that an avatar may only be newlyconnected to another avatar while the avatar (or both avatars) ismotionless. The system may perform this by determining whether avatarsmeet conversation initiation criteria (e.g., join distance, join area,trajectory) to be connected to one another only for avatars that are notin motion. Alternatively or additionally, the system may preclude anynew connections among a set of avatars in which one or more is inmotion. For example, the system may determine translational motion (asopposed to rotational motion) is “motion” that precludes newconnections. The system may calculate translational motion based onvelocity of an avatar in the virtual environment. The system may userotational motion (e.g., indicating that an avatar is changing adirection it is facing) to determine whether to add rotating avatar to aconversation or an avatar, near a rotating avatar in a group, to thegroup. The system may also allow join events for other types of motion(e.g., an animation of an avatar eating) or preclude based on othermotion (e.g., an animation of an avatar using a cell phone).

As shown in FIG. 7B, the system may also determine motion-baseddisconnections. For example, as shown in diagram 730, avatar 732 andavatar 734 may maintain a conversation while in motion if both avatarsare moving in close proximity and/or in the same direction. For example,the system may ensure that avatars may only be disconnected from oneanother when moving or when moving in certain directions. For example,once a connection between a set of avatars has been initiated (e.g., aconversation initiated), the system does not end the connection orevaluate whether the connection should be ended in the absence of anymovement by any of the connected avatars. The system may do thisregardless of any movements or disconnections of avatars outside theconversation. If one or more of the avatars in the conversation move,the system may perform calculations based on the direction of avatarmovement to determine whether disconnection should occur. By doing so,the system ensures that connections between avatars are morestable/persistent once initiated, with disconnection between any twoavatars requiring movement by at least one of them (e.g., two avatarscannot be disconnected from each other purely due to movement of a thirdavatar). This also helps to minimize disruptions caused by avatarsjoining and leaving conversations.

By doing so, the system may limit the number of inadvertentconversations. For example, a first avatar walking past a second avatarwithout stopping does not initiate a potentially unwanted conversation -avatars can travel through a crowded space without connectingto/disconnecting from a series of video calls, which might be sociallyundesirable while also wasting computational resources. Only allowingnew connections among translationally stationary avatars may improvesoftware efficiency and performance, such that the presence/absence ofnew connections must only be determined computationally for the subsetof avatars that are not in translational motion. For example, if newconnections between avatars are allowed while one or more of the avatarsare in motion, this increases the likelihood of inadvertent or unwantedconnections - especially when an avatar is passing through an areawithout any intention of stopping for a conversation. These inadvertentconnections would be especially disruptive in a chaining or conversationgroup-based join area system, where inadvertent proximity to one avatarcould cause a connection with a large number of other avatars connectedto it.

In some embodiments, the system may maintain the conversation if theavatars (e.g., avatar 742 and avatar 744 maintain the same trajectoryand are within a conversation join area (which may move with theavatars) as shown in diagram 740.

However, if the avatars move in opposite directions or trajectories asin diagram 750, the system may end a conversation between the avatars(e.g., avatar 752 and avatar 754). For example, the system maydisconnect a first avatar (e.g., a first user) from a second avatar onlyif moving away from the second avatar’s position or a point representingthe center (e.g., centroid) of the second avatar’s join or leave area,with “away” defined as a direction offset from a direction directlytoward the second avatar’s position or join or leave area center bygreater than some constant or variable angle (e.g., 90 degrees or more).

Additionally or alternatively, the system may disconnect a first avatar(e.g., a first user) from a group of other avatars only if moving awayfrom a point representing the center of the group of others, such as ameasure of central tendency incorporating the position of all avatars inthat group, or a point representing the center of that group’s join orleave area(s).

Additionally or alternatively, the system may disconnect a first avatar(e.g., a first user) from a group of avatars only if moving away (samedefinition of “away” as above) from a certain number or percentage ofavatars in that group. In one embodiment, moving away from one or moreavatars in the group is sufficient to consider disconnection based onother criteria, and in another embodiment, an avatar must be moving awayfrom all members of the group simultaneously in order to considerdisconnection (or anything in between, e.g., moving away from 50% ormore of group members enables disconnection).

As shown in FIG. 7C, the system may also use automatic movement (e.g.,movement with user input) of avatars to maintain cohesion betweenavatars in a conversation. For example, the system may detect avatarsthat are already in conversation with each other, but who cease to meetcertain criteria for remaining connected (e.g., a distant pair ofavatars that formerly had a chain of avatars between them in a chainingparadigm). In response, the system may automatically move the avatarscloser to one another to maintain the connection between them and/or tomaintain the appearance of being in close enough proximity to be inconversation with one another.

The system may do this by determining whether connected avatars meetsome criteria for being disconnected (e.g., conversation maintenancecriteria) from one another, but should not actually be disconnectedbased on additional criteria. For example, the system may initiate anautomatic movement of one or both of the avatars such that they move toa position where they will no longer meet the criteria for beingdisconnected from one another. If the user of an avatar initiates amovement while the avatar is moving automatically, the system mayoverride the automatic movement and make the movement indicated by theuser’s input instead.

By doing so, the system provides a way for avatars who remain inconversation with one another, but might be distant from one another dueto a former chain or group-based join area, to restore the outwardappearance of being in proximity to one another, allowing other partiesto infer that they remain in conversation.

For example, the system may move avatars such that they follow oneanother as shown in diagram 760. For example, when an option is enabledfor a first avatar, if the first avatar is connected to a second avatarand the second avatar makes a movement that takes it beyond a certainthreshold distance of the first avatar (e.g., related to distancesspecified in conversation maintenance criteria) or outside the leavearea for that avatar, the system may initiate an automatic movement ofthe first avatar towards the second avatar, or in the same direction asthe second avatar, to avoid exiting the leave area of the second avatar.If movement is directed towards the second avatar, the first avatar maycontinue orienting/moving toward the second avatar, with its directionupdated dynamically, as long as the second avatar is moving away fromthe first avatar. By doing so, the system enables avatars to remain inconversation with one another as they move about a virtual environmenttogether, with one avatar controlling the movement of the entire group.

For example, the system may determine that when one avatar in aconnected group moves as a result of user input, the other avatars (atleast, those who have the option enabled) are moved automatically in thesame direction immediately.

The system may determine that when one avatar in a conversation moves asa result of user input, the other avatars move towards that avatarimmediately. Alternatively, the system may not move the other avatarsimmediately, but instead move them when the initially moving avatarmoves far enough that conversation maintenance criteria may not be met.Additionally or alternatively, the system may determine that whenmultiple avatars in a conversation move as a result of user inputsimultaneously, each avatar makes movements towards or in the samedirection as the initially moving avatar that is closest to them.

For example, the system may interpret multiple user inputs from multipleusers that are the same to help route avatars. In one example, thesystem may determine that when multiple avatars in a conversation moveas a result of user inputs simultaneously, the other avatars in thegroup move towards whichever avatar started to move first. In anotherexample, the system may determine that when multiple avatars in aconnected group move as a result of user input simultaneously, the otheravatars in the group move towards the avatar previously designated ashaving priority over other moving avatars through some ranking orleadership system.

Additionally or alternatively, a user may select to have the systemcause their avatar to follow another avatar, and/or the user may selectto have the system cause a prompt for other users to follow theiravatar.

In some embodiments, the system automatically moves (e.g., without userinput), connected avatars who meet conversation initiation criteriaand/or conversation maintenance criteria, toward a calculated center oftheir positions (e.g., a mean (centroid) or median of vector positioncomponents), until they are within a certain threshold distance of atleast one other avatar in the group, or until user input overrides thisaction.

In some embodiments, the system may maintain a spatial arrangement ofavatars in a conversation. For example, avatar 772 and avatar 774 takediffering routes, but may maintain the spacing and trajectory relativeto each other; therefore, simulating how users would “walk and talk” inreal-life situations. For example, the system may automatically move,connected avatars and/or orient them toward a calculated center of theirpositions (or each other) until they meet criteria to initiate a newconnection with each other (e.g., they are within each others’ joinareas) or until a user input overrides this action. Additionally oralternatively, the system may maintain the existing connection ratherthan initiating a new connection.

FIG. 8 shows illustrative user interfaces related to external avatarcontrol and situational dynamics, in accordance with one or moreembodiments. For example, while the system may support users navigatingavatars about a virtual environment in order to initiate conversations,the system may also allow one or more users to select (e.g., viaauxiliary input devices such as a mouse, touchpad, etc.) one or moreavatars for automatic inclusion in a conversation. The system may alsosupport the automatic movement of the avatars in the virtual environmentin order to maintain the immersion of the user. For example, the systemmay provide several methods for selecting a group of avatars, forinclusion in a private conversation or any other activity (e.g.,transport to another location, inclusion in a game or other activity,invited to an event, send a message, send requested to follow an avatar,etc.). The system may provide these via a user interface that enablesone or more avatars in a virtual environment to be selectedsimultaneously.

By providing this functionality, the system may more rapidly initiatespecific interactions (e.g., beyond automatically connecting toconversations via avatar interactions) with multiple users and do sowith interactions beyond a single avatar at a time. Notably,conventional platforms have no intuitive and/or expedient way to engagemultiple avatars in a shared activity in the context of avatar videochat without the presence of a virtual structure (e.g., table,conference room), beyond automatically initiating communications basedon proximity or other factors. Being able to precisely and quicklyselect multiple avatars is particularly important for initiating aprivate conversation within a public setting.

For example, as shown in user interface 800, a group of avatars (e.g.,group 804) may be selected. Furthermore, the system may also receive auser selection of an object or position within the virtual environmentto act as a conversation position. In some embodiments, the system maytag (e.g., using metadata) different objects within the virtualenvironment to act as conversation position and/or conversation joinareas. For example, as shown in user interface 800, the system hasreceived a user input select object 802 (e.g., a table) as aconversation position. Accordingly, group 804 is automatically (e.g.,without further user input) included in a conversation, and the avatarsof group 804 are automatically navigated to object 802.

For example, the system may receive manual user selections, cumulativeselections of one or more avatars, selections of a group of avatars in aparticular vicinity (e.g., by clicking or tapping on the avatars),and/or determine a group based on the selections. Alternatively oradditionally, the system may receive a shape with pre-set properties(e.g., such as a selection box or selection ellipse) drawn on the screenby a user using a pointing device (e.g., mouse, stylus, finger, etc.),such that avatars within the shape are selected. The system may alsoreceive a freeform shape that is drawn on the screen by the user using apointing device, such that all avatars within a closed shape areselected. Additionally, the system may enable drawing a freeform shape,such that if the shape is not closed, a straight or curved line isinferred from the two ends of the line that was drawn to create a closedshape, within which all avatars will be selected. The system may alsoenable drawing a freeform line on the screen with a pointing device,such that any shapes representing avatars that the line touches (orpasses within a small threshold distance of) are selected. The systemmay then allow a user to de-select of a subset of avatars that arealready selected. The system may also allow for a combination ofselection means. For example, all avatars in a current conversation maybe selected by default when a conversation (or an avatar in aconversation) are selected.

Additionally, as shown in user interface 820, the system may provideinteractive elements for maintaining the immersion of the user. Forexample, in response to object 802 being selected as a conversationpoint, the system may retrieve metadata for object 802. The metadata mayinclude instructions for avatars that are using object 802 as aconversation position. The metadata may indicate sub-positions forarranging avatars at the conversation position and/or within aconversation join area. For example, the sub-positions may indicatepredetermined spatial arrangements, densities, etc. The sub-positionsmay also correspond to other objects (or portions of an object) in thevirtual environment. For example, as shown in user interface 820, thesystem may determine that object 802 includes various sub-positions(e.g., shown as chairs). The system may then automatically navigate theavatars (e.g., avatar 822 and avatar 824) to the sub-positions (e.g.,including generating customized navigation instructions to allow eachavatar to be automatically navigated to a respective sub-position). Thesystem may also determine a number of sub-positions and correlate thosesub-positions with the avatars in group 804. Accordingly, the number ofsub-positions (e.g., as visualized in the virtual environment) maycorrespond to one or more conversation initiation criteria. That is,upon all chairs (i.e., sub-positions) being occupied by an avatar, thesystem may close the conversation and prevent other avatars/users fromjoining. Additionally, subsequent user inputs to allow for more users tojoin may also trigger corresponding animation and/or modification to thevirtual environment (e.g., adding additional chairs, transitioning to adifferent virtual environment (e.g., a larger conference room setting),and/or allowing for standing participants).

FIG. 9 shows illustrative user interfaces related to maintainingconversations between users, in accordance with one or more embodiments.FIG. 9 shows user interface 900, user interface 910, and user interface920. For example, user interface 910 may represent a user interfaceafter a conversation has been presented. That is, two users (asrepresented by the respective video windows) are currently engaged in aconversation (e.g., based on the proximity of the avatars of the twousers). While connected in the conversation, the two users may exchangecommunications.

The system may also enable the users to make additional modifications tothe virtual environment and/or switch to another virtual environment.For example, after initiating the conversation between the first userand the second user, the system may generate for display thepeer-to-peer livestream communication between the first user and thesecond user. The peer-to-peer livestream communication between the firstuser and the second user may comprise a simultaneous display of a firstvideo feed of the first user and a second video feed of a second user.The first video feed and the second video feed are overlaid on the firstvirtual environment.

During the conversation, the users may wish to transition to anothervirtual environment or may wish to generate modifications to the currentvirtual environment. For example, a first user may select (e.g., via amenu), through an inputted command, and/or a selection of an objectwithin the virtual environment. The user input may cause the system tomaintain the conversation and cause a transition to a second virtualenvironment or a modification to a current environment. For example, afirst user may wish to add a table to a current virtual environment.

The transition to a different virtual environment or the modification toa current virtual environment may require loading of additional assets.For example, the system may generate a loading screen (or an iconcorresponding to loading) when loading the second virtual environment asshown in user interface 910.

However, as opposed to conventional systems, the system maintains thefirst and second video feed while the second virtual environment isloading. Accordingly, the first and second user may continue to exchangecommunications while the second virtual environment is loading. Thesystem may then generate for simultaneous display the second virtualenvironment (as shown in user interface 920) with the first and secondvideo feeds maintained. For example, the first video feed and the secondvideo feed are overlaid on the second virtual environment.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of the steps involved in generatingcommunications between users based on proximity-based criteria foravatars within a first virtual environment. For example, the system maytrigger peer-to-peer livestream communications between users based onproximity-based criteria for avatars within a first virtual environmentthat correspond to the users.

At step 1002, process 1000 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) generates a virtual environment. For example,the system may generate for simultaneous display a first virtualenvironment on a first user interface and a second user interface,wherein the first user interface corresponds to a first user, whereinthe second user interface corresponds to a second user, and wherein thefirst user is located remotely from the second user. For example, thesystem may generate a virtual environment that multiple users in remotephysical locations may access and interact with each other in real time.

At step 1004, process 1000 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) generates avatars for users in the virtualenvironment. For example, the system may generate for display a firstavatar in the first virtual environment, wherein the first avatarcorresponds to the first user. The system may also generate for displaya second avatar in the first virtual environment, wherein the secondavatar corresponds to the second user. For example, the system maygenerate a plurality of avatars, in which each avatar corresponds to auser. The system may allow users to move their avatars through thevirtual environment to interact with each other.

At step 1006, process 1000 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) determines respective positions for the avatarsin the virtual environment. For example, the system may determine, forthe first avatar, a first position in the first virtual environment. Thesystem may also determine, for the second avatar, a second position inthe first virtual environment. The system may then determine one or morejoin areas based on the first position or the second position.

For example, the system may determine the one or more join areas basedon the first position or the second position further by retrieving afirst user profile for the first user, retrieving a first join areacriterion for the first user, retrieving an environment rule for thefirst virtual environment, and determining a size or shape of a firstjoin area based on the first join area criterion and the environmentrule. In another example, the system may determine the one or more joinareas based on the first position or the second position by determininga direction of movement for the first avatar, retrieving a first joinarea criterion for the first user, retrieving an environment rule forthe first virtual environment, and determining a size or shape of afirst join area based on the first join area criterion and theenvironment rule.

In another example, the system may determine the one or more join areasbased on the first position or the second position by retrieving a firstjoin area criterion for the first user; retrieving an environment rulefor the first virtual environment; determining a grid map of the firstvirtual environment based on the environment rule, wherein the grid mapdefines a plurality of cells that comprise the first virtual environmentand one or more cell properties for each cell of the plurality of cells;and determining a subset of cells in the grid map that comprise a firstjoin area based on the first position, the first join area criterion,and the one or more cell properties for each cell of the plurality ofcells in the grid map.

In some embodiments, determining a position of an avatar may alsoinclude determining a direction of the avatar and monitoring for whetherthe avatar has stopped moving. For example, the system may determine,for the first avatar, the first position in the first virtualenvironment by receiving a second user input, wherein the second userinput causes the first avatar to navigate about the first virtualenvironment, determining that the first avatar is no longer navigatingabout the first virtual environment, and determining the first positionin the first virtual environment in response to determining that thefirst avatar is no longer navigating about the first virtualenvironment.

At step 1008, process 1000 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) compares the positions to determine whether toinitiate conversations between users in the virtual environment. Forexample, the system may compare the one or more join areas to one ormore conversation initiation criteria to determine whether to initiate aconversation between the first user and the second user. In someembodiments, the system may determine a distance between the avatarsand/or whether join areas for avatars are overlapping. For example, thesystem may determine the one or more join areas based on the firstposition or the second position by determining a distance between thefirst position and the second position. The system may then compare theone or more join areas to the one or more conversation initiationcriteria to determine whether to initiate the conversation between thefirst user and the second user. The system may retrieve a thresholddistance for initiating the conversation. The system may then comparethe distance to the threshold distance to determine whether the distanceis equal to or within the threshold distance. In another example, thesystem may determine the one or more join areas based on the firstposition or the second position by determining a first radial-based joinarea about the first position and a second radial-based join area aboutthe second position. The system may then compare the one or more joinareas to the one or more conversation initiation criteria to determinewhether to initiate the conversation between the first user and thesecond user further by retrieving a threshold overlap area forinitiating the conversation, determining an overlap area between thefirst radial-based join area and the second radial-based join area, anddetermining whether the overlap area equals or exceeds the thresholdoverlap area.

At step 1010, process 1000 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) initiates communications between the users. Forexample, the system may initiate the conversation between the first userand the second user, wherein the conversation comprises a peer-to-peerlivestream communication between the first user and the second user inresponse to determining to initiate the conversation between the firstuser and the second user.

The system may also perform additional operations to either maintain theconversation or end the conversation. For example, after initiating theconversation between the first user and the second user, the system maygenerate for display the peer-to-peer livestream communication betweenthe first user and the second user. The peer-to-peer livestreamcommunication between the first user and the second user may comprise asimultaneous display of a first video feed of the first user and asecond video feed of the second user, and the first video feed and thesecond video feed are overlaid on the first virtual environment. Thesystem may then receive a user input, wherein the user input maintainsthe conversation and causes a transition to a second virtualenvironment. The system may then load the second virtual environment.While the second virtual environment is loading, the system may maintainthe simultaneous display of the first video feed and the second videofeed. The system may then generate for simultaneous display the secondvirtual environment on a first user interface and a second userinterface, wherein the first video feed and the second video feed areoverlaid on the second virtual environment.

Additionally or alternatively, after initiating the conversation betweenthe first user and the second user, the system may receive a user inputcausing the first avatar to navigate about the first virtualenvironment. The system may then determine, for the first avatar, a newposition in the first virtual environment. The system may determine oneor more join areas based on the new position or the second position. Thesystem may then compare the one or more join areas to one or moreconversation maintenance criteria to determine whether to maintain theconversation between the first user and the second user.

Additionally or alternatively, the system may add additional users tothe conversation via chaining. For example, the system may generate forsimultaneous display the first virtual environment on a third userinterface, wherein the third user interface corresponds to a third user.The system may then generate for display a third avatar in the firstvirtual environment, wherein the third avatar corresponds to the thirduser. The system may then determine, for the third avatar, a thirdposition in the first virtual environment. The system may determine athird join area based on the third position. The system may then comparethe third join area to the one or more conversation initiation criteriato determine whether to add the third user to the conversation.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 10 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 10 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order, in parallel,or simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system ormethod. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the devices orequipment discussed in relation to other embodiments described hereincould be used to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 10 .

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of the steps involved in chaining avatarstogether in a virtual environment to enable communications betweenusers, in accordance with one or more embodiments. For example, process1100 may comprise steps for triggering peer-to-peer livestreamcommunications between users based on preexisting relationships betweenavatars within virtual environments.

At step 1102, process 1100 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) generates a virtual environment. For example,the system may generate for simultaneous display a first virtualenvironment on a plurality of user interfaces, wherein a respective userinterface of the plurality of user interfaces is accessible to each of afirst user, a second user, and a third user, wherein the first user, thesecond user, and the third user are located remotely from each other.

At step 1104, process 1100 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) generates avatars for users in the virtualenvironment. For example, the system may generate for display, in thefirst virtual environment, a first avatar corresponding to the firstuser, a second avatar corresponding to the second user, and a thirdavatar corresponding to the third user.

At step 1106, process 1100 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) generates a conversation for a first user and asecond user. For example, the system may generate for display on therespective user interfaces for the first user and the second user aconversation, wherein the conversation comprises a peer-to-peerlivestream communication between the first user and the second user.

At step 1108, process 1100 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) determines a position of the first user. Forexample, the system may determine, for the first avatar, a firstposition in the first virtual environment.

At step 1110, process 1100 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) determines a position of a third user. Forexample, the system may determine, for the third avatar, a thirdposition in the first virtual environment.

At step 1112, process 1100 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) adds the third user to the conversation withthe second user based on the positions of the first user and the thirduser. For example, the system may add, without user input, the thirduser to the conversation based on the first position and the thirdposition, wherein adding the third user to the conversation comprisesgenerating for display, the peer-to-peer livestream communication, onthe respective user interfaces for the first user, the second user, andthe third user.

For example, the system may chain the third user to the other users inthe conversation. The chaining may persist irrespective of whether ornot one or more users leaves the conversation. For example, the systemmay determine that the first user has left the conversation. The systemmay then maintain, without user input, the conversation comprisesgenerating for display, the peer-to-peer livestream communication, onthe respective user interfaces for the second user and the third user.

The system may use one or more criteria for determining whether or notto add the third user. The system may, for example, add the third userirrespective of the position of the second user, or the system may useother metrics (e.g., whether or not the third avatar is within athreshold distance to one or more other avatars in the conversation).For example, the system may determine, for the second avatar, a secondposition in the first virtual environment. The system may retrieve afirst threshold distance for adding the third user to the conversation,wherein the first threshold distance indicates a maximum distance fromany avatars in the conversation for adding a new avatar to theconversation. The system may determine a first distance, wherein thefirst distance is between the third position and the second position.The system may then compare the first distance to the first thresholddistance. The system may then determine that the first distance does notmeet the first threshold distance. In response to determining that thefirst distance does not meet the first threshold distance, the systemmay not add the third user to the conversation. Instead, the system mayprompt the third user to move closer to the second user or enter aconversation join area.

In some embodiments, the system may cycle through the various avatars ina virtual environment or in a given conversation. The system maydetermine if a respective avatar meets any criteria for being connectedto other avatars. For example, if the system determines not to add athird user to a conversation based on a position of a second avatar(e.g., a second user) and a third avatar (e.g., the third user), thesystem may move on to another avatar (e.g., a first avatar for a firstuser). For example, the system may in response to not adding the thirduser to the conversation, the system may determine a second distance,wherein the second distance is between the third position and the firstposition. The system may compare the second distance to the firstthreshold distance. The system may determine that the second distancemeets the first threshold distance. In response to determining that thesecond distance meets the first threshold distance, the system maydetermine to add the third user to the conversation. Additionally oralternatively, the system may determine, for a fourth avatar, a fourthposition in the first virtual environment. The system may retrieve asecond threshold distance for adding the fourth user to theconversation, wherein the second threshold distance indicates a minimumdistance from any avatar in the conversation for maintaining avatars inthe conversation. The system may determine a third distance, wherein thethird distance is between the fourth position and the first position.The system may compare the third distance to the second thresholddistance. The system may determine that third distance does not meet thesecond threshold distance. In response to determining that the thirddistance does not meet the second threshold distance, the system may notadd the fourth user to the conversation.

In some embodiments, the system may use various thresholds (e.g.,corresponding to one or more conversation initiation criteria) todetermine whether or not to join users in a conversation. Thesethresholds may be based on avatar positions, join areas for avatars,join areas for conversation (or conversation positions), etc. That is,the thresholds may be based on distances (e.g., in a virtualenvironment) or the overlapping of one or more join areas with aposition or another join area. Irrespective of the basis for thethreshold, the system may also dynamically adjust the threshold based onthe number of users, density, overall size, user settings, environmentrules, etc. (e.g., in a conversation or virtual environment). Forexample, the system may determine a number of users in the conversation.The system may then determine the first threshold distance based on thenumber of users. Additionally or alternatively, the system may determinea density of avatars in the first environment. The system may determinethe first threshold distance based on the density. Additionally oralternatively, the system may determine a size of the first virtualenvironment. The system may determine the first threshold distance basedon the size of the first virtual environment. Additionally oralternatively, the system may retrieve a threshold conversation size forthe conversation. The system may determine a number of users in theconversation. The system may compare the threshold conversation size tothe number of users. The system may determine that the number of usersmeets the threshold conversation size. In response to determining thatthe number of users meets the threshold conversation size, the systemmay determine to add the third user to the conversation.

In some embodiments, a conversation initiation criterion may be timedependent. For example, the system may determine a distance based on thefirst position and the third position. The system may then determine alength of time at which the first avatar and the third avatar havemaintained the distance. The system may retrieve a threshold length oftime for adding users to a conversation. The system may compare thelength of time to the threshold length of time. The system may determinethat length of time meets the threshold length of time. In response todetermining that length of time meets the threshold length of time, thesystem may determine to add the third user to the conversation.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 11 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 11 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order, in parallel,or simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system ormethod. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the devices orequipment discussed in relation to other embodiments described hereincould be used to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 11 .

FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of the steps involved in generating join areasin a virtual environment to enable communications between users, inaccordance with one or more embodiments. For example, process 1200 mayinvolve steps for triggering peer-to-peer livestream communicationsbetween users based on proximity-based criteria for avatars withinvirtual environments that correspond to the users.

At step 1202, process 1200 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) generates a virtual environment. For example,the system may generate for simultaneous display a first virtualenvironment on a plurality of user interfaces, wherein a respective userinterface of the plurality of user interfaces is accessible to each of afirst user, a second user, and a third user, wherein the first user, thesecond user, and the third user are located remotely from each other.

At step 1204, process 1200 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) generates avatars for users in the virtualenvironment. For example, the system may generate for display, in thefirst virtual environment, a first avatar corresponding to the firstuser, a second avatar corresponding to the second user, and a thirdavatar corresponding to the third user.

At step 1206, process 1200 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) generates a conversation for a first user and asecond user. For example, the system may generate for display on therespective user interfaces for the first user and the second user aconversation, wherein the conversation comprises a peer-to-peerlivestream communication between the first user and the second user.

Additionally or alternatively, the system may generate for display onone or more user interfaces indicators of avatars that have joined aconversation and/or are available to join a conversation. The system mayalso dynamically determine characteristics of the indicators. Forexample, the system may determine a distance between the third positionand the conversation position. The system may then generate for displayon the respective user interfaces for the first user, the second user,and the third user, a join indicator, wherein the join indicatorindicates that the third user is available to join the conversation, andwherein a characteristic of the join indicator is based on the distance.

At step 1208, process 1200 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) determines a position of a third user. Forexample, the system may determine, for the third avatar, a thirdposition in the first virtual environment.

At step 1210, process 1200 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) determines a position for the conversation. Forexample, the system may determine, for the conversation, a conversationposition in the first virtual environment. Furthermore, the size orshape of the conversation join area (or a position of a conversationposition corresponding to the conversation) may be determined by thesystem based on the first position and the second position.

At step 1212, process 1200 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) determines one or more join areas based on thepositions. For example, the system may determine one or more join areasbased on the third position or the conversation position, wherein theconversation position is based on a first position for the first avatarand a second position for the second avatar.

In some embodiments, determining the one or more join areas may involvedetermining threshold distances and/or whether or not a join areaoverlaps with a conversation join area. For example, determining the oneor more join areas based on the third position or the conversationposition may comprise determining, by the system, a distance between thefirst conversation position and the third position. Additionally,comparing the one or more join areas to one or more conversationinitiation criteria to determine whether to allow the third user to jointhe conversation may comprise retrieving, by the system a thresholddistance for allowing the third user to join the conversation, andcomparing, by the system, the distance to the threshold distance todetermine whether the distance is equal to or within the thresholddistance.

Additionally or alternatively, the system may determine a third joinarea about the third position and a conversation join area about theconversation position. The system may then retrieve a threshold overlaparea for allowing the third user to join the conversation. The systemmay determine an overlap area between the third join area and theconversation join area. The system may determine whether the overlaparea equals or exceeds the threshold overlap area.

The system may additionally or alternatively determine one or more joinareas based on user-specific criteria (e.g., retrieved from a userprofile), environment rules (e.g., specific to the virtual environment),and/or other criteria. The system may use these criteria to determine asize or shape of a join area. For example, the system may retrieve athird user profile for the third user. The system may retrieve a thirdjoin area criterion from the third user profile. The system may retrievean environment rule for the first virtual environment. The system maythen determine a size or shape of a third join area, for the thirdavatar, based on the third join area criterion and the environment rule.

The system may also use velocity, trajectory, and/or other connectioncharacteristics to determine join areas and/or characteristics of thejoin areas. For example, the system may determine a trajectory for thethird avatar. The system may retrieve a third join area criterion forthe third user. The system may retrieve an environment rule for thefirst virtual environment. The system may determine a size or shape of athird join area, for the third avatar, based on the third join areacriterion and the environment rule.

When determining a join area, the system may map the join areas to thevirtual environment. For example, the system may retrieve a third joinarea criterion for the third user. The system may retrieve anenvironment rule for the first virtual environment. The system maydetermine a grid map of the first virtual environment based on theenvironment rule, wherein the grid map defines a plurality of cells thatcomprise the first virtual environment and one or more cell propertiesfor each cell of the plurality of cells. The system may then determine asubset of cells in the grid map that comprise a third join area, for thethird avatar, based on the third position, third join area criterion,and the one or more cell properties for each of the plurality of cellsin the grid map.

At step 1214, process 1200 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) adds the third user to the conversation basedon the one or more join areas. For example, the system may compare theone or more join areas to one or more conversation initiation criteriato determine whether to allow the third user to join the conversation.The system may then, in response to determining to allow the third userto join the conversation, add the third user to the conversation,wherein adding the third user to the conversation comprises generatingfor display, the peer-to-peer livestream communication, on therespective user interfaces for the first user, the second user, and thethird user.

The system may also adjust the position of the conversation based on theposition of avatars in the conversation. For example, the system maydetermine an initial conversation position based on the first positionfor the first avatar and the second position for the second avatar. Thesystem may determine that the first avatar has navigated to a newposition. The system may adjust the initial conversation position basedon the new position and the second position.

The system may also monitor user inputs related to the avatars in theconversation to determine whether or not an avatar wishes to leave aconversation. For example, after adding the third user to theconversation, the system may receive a second user input, wherein thesecond user input causes the third avatar to navigate about the firstvirtual environment. The system may determine, for the third avatar, anew position in the first virtual environment. The system may determineone or more join areas based on the new position or the conversationposition. The system may compare the one or more join areas to one ormore conversation maintenance criteria to determine whether to maintainthe third user in the conversation.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 12 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 12 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order, in parallel,or simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system ormethod. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the devices orequipment discussed in relation to other embodiments described hereincould be used to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 12 .

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of the steps involved in using avatar motionto determine whether to provide communications between users in virtualenvironments, in accordance with one or more embodiments. For example,process 1300 may be used for triggering peer-to-peer livestreamcommunications between users based on motions of avatars within thefirst virtual environment that correspond to the users.

At step 1302, process 1300 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) generates a virtual environment. For example,the system may generate for simultaneous display a first virtualenvironment on a first user interface and a second user interface,wherein the first user interface corresponds to a first user, whereinthe second user interface corresponds to a second user, and wherein thefirst user is located remotely from the second user.

At step 1304, process 1300 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) generate avatars for users in the virtualenvironment. For example, the system may generate for display a firstavatar in the first virtual environment, wherein the first avatarcorresponds to the first user. The system may then generate for displaya second avatar in the first virtual environment, wherein the secondavatar corresponds to the second user.

At step 1306, process 1300 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) determines velocities for the avatars. Forexample, the system may determine, for the first avatar, a firstvelocity in the first virtual environment. For example, the system maydetermine, for the second avatar, a second velocity in the first virtualenvironment.

For example, the system may determine one or more characteristics aboutan avatar (e.g., velocity, trajectory, position, user profileinformation, environment rules, etc.) to determine whether or not to adda user to a conversation. For example, the system may determine, for thefirst avatar, a first position in the first virtual environment. Thesystem may determine, for the second avatar, a second position in thefirst virtual environment. The system may determine, based on the firstposition and the second position, a conversation join area for theconversation. The system may determine that the conversation join areaoverlaps with a second conversation join area. In response determiningthat the conversation join area overlaps with the second conversationjoin area, the system may modify the conversation join area.

Additionally or alternatively, the system may retrieve a first join areacriterion for the first user. The system may retrieve an environmentrule for the first virtual environment. The system may determine a gridmap of the first virtual environment based on the environment rule,wherein the grid map defines a plurality of cells that comprise thefirst virtual environment and one or more cell properties for each cellof the plurality of cells. The system may determine a subset of cells inthe grid map that comprise a first join area based on the firstvelocity, first join area criterion, and the one or more cell propertiesfor each of the plurality of cells in the grid map.

At step 1308, process 1300 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) determines one or more join areas based on thevelocities. For example, the system may determine one or more join areasbased on the first velocity or the second velocity. For example, thesystem may determine whether or not avatars are stationary (e.g., notmoving) or near stationary (e.g., slowing down) before generating a joinarea.

For example, the system may retrieve a threshold velocity for initiatingthe conversation, wherein the threshold velocity indicates a maximumvelocity for initiating the conversation. For example, the maximumvelocity may correspond to a velocity of zero (e.g., indicating nomovement). The velocity may be determined using various units (e.g.,pixels per second). The system may then compare the first velocity tothe threshold velocity. The system may then determine that the firstvelocity meets the threshold velocity.

The system may also use a direction of movement or trajectory of anavatar. For example, the system may only join avatars that are facingeach other. For example, the system may determine, for the first avatar,a first trajectory in the first virtual environment. The system maydetermine, for the second avatar, a second trajectory in the firstvirtual environment. The system may determine the one or more join areasbased on the first trajectory or the second trajectory. Similar, thesystem may use a direction of movement or trajectory of an avatar whendetermining whether or not to leave a join area or conversation. Forexample, after initiating the conversation between the first user andthe second user, the system may determine, for the first avatar, a newvelocity or a new trajectory. The system may compare the new velocity orthe new trajectory to one or more conversation maintenance criteria todetermine whether to maintain the conversation between the first userand the second user.

At step 1310, process 1300 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) initiates a conversation based on the joinareas. For example, the system may compare the one or more join areas toone or more conversation initiation criteria to determine whether toinitiate a conversation between the first user and the second user. Thesystem may then, in response to determining to initiate the conversationbetween the first user and the second user, initiating the conversationbetween the first user and the second user, wherein the conversationcomprises a peer-to-peer livestream communication between the first userand the second user.

In some embodiments, the system may also maintain the spacing of avatarsin a conversation that are in motion by monitoring and adjusting themovement of avatars relative to each other. For example, the system maydetermine, for the first avatar, a first position in the first virtualenvironment after initiating the conversation between the first user andthe second user. The system may determine a movement, in the firstvirtual environment, of the first avatar to a new position. The systemmay determine a difference between the new position and the firstposition. The system may automatically move, without user input, thesecond avatar, in the first virtual environment, by the difference.Additionally or alternatively, the system may retrieve predeterminedspatial arrangements. For example, the system may, after initiating theconversation between the first user and the second user, retrieve apredetermined spatial arrangement for a conversation join area for theconversation. The system may automatically move, without user input, thefirst avatar and the second avatar based on the predetermined spatialarrangement.

In some embodiments, the system may also maintain the spacing of avatarsin a conversation that are in motion by monitoring and adjusting themovement of avatars relative to a conversation join area or a positionin a conversation (e.g., a conversation position and/or center point ofthe conversation join area). For example, the system may determine, forthe first avatar, a first position in the first virtual environmentafter initiating the conversation between the first user and the seconduser. The system may determine, for the second avatar, a second positionin the first virtual environment after initiating the conversationbetween the first user and the second user. The system may determine afirst difference, wherein the first difference comprises a distancebetween the first position and a conversation position in the firstvirtual environment. The system may determine a second difference,wherein the second difference comprises a distance between the secondposition and the conversation position in the first virtual environment.The system may determine a movement, in the first virtual environment,of the first avatar to a new position. The system may determine a firstadjustment to first difference based on the movement. The system maythen automatically move, without user input, the second avatar, in thefirst virtual environment, by the first adjustment. Additionally oralternatively, the system may determine, for the first avatar, a firstposition in the first virtual environment. The system may determine, forthe second avatar, a second position in the first virtual environment.The system may determine, based on the first position and the secondposition, a conversation join area for the conversation. The system maydetermine a center point of the conversation join area. The system mayautomatically move, without user input, the first avatar and the secondavatar towards the center point after initiating the conversationbetween the first user and the second user.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 13 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 13 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order, in parallel,or simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system ormethod. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the devices orequipment discussed in relation to other embodiments described hereincould be used to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 13 .

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of the steps involved in facilitating externalcontrol of user-controlled avatars based on user-defined criteria, inaccordance with one or more embodiments. For example, process 1400 maybe used to facilitate external control of user-controlled avatars in avirtual environment in order to trigger peer-to-peer livestreamcommunications between users.

At step 1402, process 1400 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) generates a virtual environment. For example,the system may generate for simultaneous display a first virtualenvironment on a first user interface and a second user interface,wherein the first user interface corresponds to a first user, whereinthe second user interface corresponds to a second user, and wherein thefirst user is located remotely from the second user.

At step 1404, process 1400 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) generates avatars for users in the virtualenvironment. For example, the system may generate for display a firstavatar in the first virtual environment, wherein the first avatarcorresponds to the first user. The system may generate for display asecond avatar in the first virtual environment, wherein the secondavatar corresponds to the second user.

At step 1406, process 1400 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) determines positions of the avatars. Forexample, the system may determine, for the first avatar, a firstposition in the first virtual environment. The system may determine, forthe second avatar, a second position in the first virtual environment.

At step 1408, process 1400 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) receives a user input selecting a portion ofthe virtual environment. For example, the system may receive a firstuser input, wherein the first user input selects a portion of the firstvirtual environment that includes the first position and the secondposition.

At step 1410, process 1400 (e.g., using one or more components describedin system 300 (FIG. 3 )) initiates a conversation based on the userinput. For example, the system may initiate a conversation between thefirst user and the second user in response to the user input selectingthe portion of the first virtual environment that includes the firstposition and the second position, wherein the conversation comprises apeer-to-peer livestream communication between the first user and thesecond user.

The system may then maintain the conversation as additional avatarsjoin, virtual environments are transitioned to, and/or additionalenvironment assets are loaded. For example, after initiating theconversation between the first user and the second user, the system maygenerate for display the peer-to-peer livestream communication betweenthe first user and the second user, wherein the peer-to-peer livestreamcommunication between the first user and the second user comprises asimultaneous display of a first video feed of the first user and asecond video feed of a second user, and wherein the first video feed andthe second video feed are overlaid on the first virtual environment. Thesystem may receive a first user input, wherein the first user inputmaintains the conversation and causes a transition to a second virtualenvironment. The system may load the second virtual environment. Whilethe second virtual environment is loading, the system may maintain thesimultaneous display of the first video feed and the second video feed.The system may generate for simultaneous display the second virtualenvironment on a first user interface and a second user interface,wherein the first video feed and the second video feed are overlaid onthe second virtual environment.

The system may also automatically move avatars (e.g., without userinput) and/or navigate avatars to particular destinations. For example,after initiating the conversation between the first user and the seconduser, the system may retrieve a predetermined spatial arrangement for aconversation join area for the conversation. For example, thepredetermined spatial arrangement may indicate particular positions foravatars to stand in a conversation. The system may automatically move,without user input, the first avatar and the second avatar based on thepredetermined spatial arrangement.

The system may cause avatars to move closer together (e.g., in order tovisually indicate that the avatars are in a conversation). For example,the system may determine, based on a second user input, a conversationjoin area for the conversation. The system may then determine a centerpoint of the conversation join area. The system may automatically move,without user input, the first avatar and the second avatar towards thecenter point after initiating the conversation between the first userand the second user.

The system may also adjust the movement of avatars during aconversation. For example, the system may receive a second user input,wherein the second user input selects a conversation position for theconversation. The system may determine a first difference, wherein thefirst difference comprises a distance between the first position and theconversation position in the first virtual environment. The system maydetermine a second difference, wherein the second difference comprises adistance between the second position and the conversation position inthe first virtual environment. The system may determine a movement, inthe first virtual environment, of the first avatar to a new position.The system may determine a first adjustment to first difference based onthe movement. The system may automatically move, without user input, thesecond avatar, in the first virtual environment, by the firstadjustment.

In some embodiments, the system may also automatically move avatars inrelation to other avatars in the conversation. For example, afterinitiating the conversation between the first user and the second user,the system may determine a movement, in the first virtual environment,of the first avatar to a new position. The system may determine adifference between the new position and the first position. The systemmay automatically move, without user input, the second avatar, in thefirst virtual environment, by the difference.

The system may also allow for users to leave a conversation. Forexample, after initiating the conversation between the first user andthe second user, the system may receive a third user input, wherein thethird user input causes the first avatar to navigate about the firstvirtual environment. The system may determine, for the first avatar, anew position in the first virtual environment. The system may determineone or more join areas based on the new position or the second position.The system may compare the one or more join areas to one or moreconversation maintenance criteria to determine whether to maintain theconversation between the first user and the second user. Additionally oralternatively, the system may, after initiating the conversation betweenthe first user and the second user, determine, for the first avatar, anew velocity or a new trajectory. The system may compare the newvelocity or the new trajectory to one or more conversation maintenancecriteria to determine whether to maintain the conversation between thefirst user and the second user.

The system may also allow for additional users to join a conversationinitiated by an external user. The system may generate for simultaneousdisplay the first virtual environment on a third user interface, whereinthe third user interface corresponds to a third user. The system maygenerate for display a third avatar in the first virtual environment,wherein the third avatar corresponds to the third user. The system maydetermine, for the third avatar, a third position in the first virtualenvironment. The system may determine a third join area based on thethird position. The system may automatically add, without user input,the third user to the conversation based on the third join area.

In some embodiments, the system may modify a conversation join areabased on other conversation join areas in order to prevent congestionand/or overlap. For example, the system may determine, based on thefirst user input, a conversation join area for the conversation. Thesystem may determine that the conversation join area overlaps with asecond conversation join area. The system may, in response, determinethat the conversation join area overlaps with the second conversationjoin area, and automatically modify the conversation join area withoutsubsequent user input.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 14 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 14 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order, in parallel,or simultaneously to reduce lag or increase the speed of the system ormethod. Furthermore, it should be noted that any of the devices orequipment discussed in relation to other embodiments described hereincould be used to perform one or more of the steps in FIG. 14 .

The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are presentedfor purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the presentdisclosure is limited only by the claims which follow. Furthermore, itshould be noted that the features and limitations described in any oneembodiment may be applied to any embodiment herein, and flowcharts orexamples relating to one embodiment may be combined with any otherembodiment in a suitable manner, done in different orders, or done inparallel. In addition, the systems and methods described herein may beperformed in real time. It should also be noted that the systems and/ormethods described above may be applied to, or used in accordance with,other systems and/or methods.

The present techniques will be better understood with reference to thefollowing enumerated embodiments:

1. A method for triggering peer-to-peer livestream communicationsbetween users based on proximity-based criteria for avatars within afirst virtual environment that correspond to the users, the methodcomprising: generating for simultaneous display a first virtualenvironment on a first user interface and a second user interface,wherein the first user interface corresponds to a first user, whereinthe second user interface corresponds to a second user, and wherein thefirst user is located remotely from the second user; generating fordisplay a first avatar in the first virtual environment, wherein thefirst avatar corresponds to the first user; generating for display asecond avatar in the first virtual environment, wherein the secondavatar corresponds to the second user; determining, for the firstavatar, a first position in the first virtual environment; determining,for the second avatar, a second position in the first virtualenvironment; determining one or more join areas based on the firstposition or the second position; comparing the one or more join areas toone or more conversation initiation criteria to determine whether toinitiate a conversation between the first user and the second user; and,in response to determining to initiate the conversation between thefirst user and the second user, initiating the conversation between thefirst user and the second user, wherein the conversation comprises apeer-to-peer livestream communication between the first user and thesecond user.

2. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein determiningthe one or more join areas based on the first position or the secondposition comprises determining a distance between the first position andthe second position, and wherein comparing the one or more join areas tothe one or more conversation initiation criteria to determine whether toinitiate the conversation between the first user and the second userfurther comprises: retrieving a threshold distance for initiating theconversation; and comparing the distance to the threshold distance todetermine whether the distance is equal to or within the thresholddistance.

3. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein determiningthe one or more join areas based on the first position or the secondposition comprises determining a first radial-based join area about thefirst position and a second radial-based join area about the secondposition, and wherein comparing the one or more join areas to the one ormore conversation initiation criteria to determine whether to initiatethe conversation between the first user and the second user furthercomprises: retrieving a threshold overlap area for initiating theconversation; determining an overlap area between the first radial-basedjoin area and the second radial-based join area; and determining whetherthe overlap area equals or exceeds the threshold overlap area.

4. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein determiningthe one or more join areas based on the first position or the secondposition further comprises: retrieving a first user profile for thefirst user; retrieving a first join area criterion for the first user;retrieving an environment rule for the first virtual environment; anddetermining a size or shape of a first join area based on the first joinarea criterion and the environment rule.

5. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein determiningthe one or more join areas based on the first position or the secondposition further comprises: determining a direction of movement for thefirst avatar; retrieving a first join area criterion for the first user;retrieving an environment rule for the first virtual environment; anddetermining a size or shape of a first join area based on the first joinarea criterion and the environment rule.

6. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein determiningthe one or more join areas based on the first position or the secondposition further comprises: retrieving a first join area criterion forthe first user; retrieving an environment rule for the first virtualenvironment; determining a grid map of the first virtual environmentbased on the environment rule, wherein the grid map defines a pluralityof cells that comprise the first virtual environment and one or morecell properties for each cell of the plurality of cells; and determininga subset of cells in the grid map that comprise a first join area basedon the first position, the first join area criterion, and the one ormore cell properties for each cell of the plurality of cells in the gridmap.

7. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising:after initiating the conversation between the first user and the seconduser, generating for display the peer-to-peer livestream communicationbetween the first user and the second user, wherein the peer-to-peerlivestream communication between the first user and the second usercomprises a simultaneous display of a first video feed of the first userand a second video feed of a second user, and wherein the first videofeed and the second video feed are overlaid on the first virtualenvironment; receiving a first user input, wherein the first user inputmaintains the conversation and causes a transition to a second virtualenvironment; loading the second virtual environment; while the secondvirtual environment is loading, maintaining the simultaneous display ofthe first video feed and the second video feed; and generating forsimultaneous display the second virtual environment on a first userinterface and a second user interface, wherein the first video feed andthe second video feed are overlaid on the second virtual environment.

8. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein determining,for the first avatar, the first position in the first virtualenvironment further comprises: receiving a second user input, whereinthe second user input causes the first avatar to navigate about thefirst virtual environment; determining that the first avatar is nolonger navigating about the first virtual environment; and determiningthe first position in the first virtual environment in response todetermining that the first avatar is no longer navigating about thefirst virtual environment.

9. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising:after initiating the conversation between the first user and the seconduser, receiving a third user input, wherein the third user input causesthe first avatar to navigate about the first virtual environment;determining, for the first avatar, a new position in the first virtualenvironment; determining one or more join areas based on the newposition or the second position; and comparing the one or more joinareas to one or more conversation maintenance criteria to determinewhether to maintain the conversation between the first user and thesecond user.

10. The method of any of the preceding embodiments, further comprisinggenerating for simultaneous display the first virtual environment on athird user interface, wherein the third user interface corresponds to athird user; generating for display a third avatar in the first virtualenvironment, wherein the third avatar corresponds to the third user;determining, for the third avatar, a third position in the first virtualenvironment; determining a third join area based on the third position;and comparing the third join area to the one or more conversationinitiation criteria to determine whether to add the third user to theconversation.

11. A method for triggering peer-to-peer livestream communicationsbetween users based on preexisting relationships between avatars withinvirtual environments, the method comprising: generating for simultaneousdisplay a first virtual environment on a plurality of user interfaces,wherein a respective user interface of the plurality of user interfacesis accessible to each of a first user, a second user, and a third user,wherein the first user, the second user, and the third user are locatedremotely from each other; generating for display, in the first virtualenvironment, a first avatar corresponding to the first user, a secondavatar corresponding to the second user, and a third avatarcorresponding to the third user; generated for display on the respectiveuser interfaces for the first user and the second user a conversation,wherein the conversation comprises a peer-to-peer livestreamcommunication between the first user and the second user; determining,for the first avatar, a first position in the first virtual environment;determining, for the third avatar, a third position in the first virtualenvironment; and adding, without user input, the third user to theconversation based on the first position and the third position, whereinadding the third user to the conversation comprises generating fordisplay, the peer-to-peer livestream communication, on the respectiveuser interfaces for the first user, the second user, and the third user.

12. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:determining that the first user has left the conversation; andmaintaining, without user input, the conversation comprises generatingfor display, the peer-to-peer livestream communication, on therespective user interfaces for the second user and the third user.

13. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, wherein adding thethird user to the conversation based on the first position and the thirdposition further comprises: determining, for the second avatar, a secondposition in the first virtual environment; retrieving a first thresholddistance for adding the third user to the conversation, wherein thefirst threshold distance indicates a maximum distance from any avatarsin the conversation for adding a new avatar to the conversation;determining a first distance, wherein the first distance is between thethird position and the second position; comparing the first distance tothe first threshold distance; determining that the first distance doesnot meet the first threshold distance; and in response to determiningthat the first distance does not meet the first threshold distance, notadding the third user to the conversation.

14. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, wherein adding thethird user to the conversation based on the first position and the thirdposition further comprises: in response to not adding the third user tothe conversation, determining a second distance, wherein the seconddistance is between the third position and the first position; comparingthe second distance to the first threshold distance; determining thatthe second distance meets the first threshold distance; and in responseto determining that the second distance meets the first thresholddistance, determining to add the third user to the conversation.

15. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:determining a number of users in the conversation; and determining thefirst threshold distance based on the number of users.

16. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:determining a density of avatars in the first environment; anddetermining the first threshold distance based on the density.

17. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:determining a size of the first virtual environment; and determining thefirst threshold distance based on the size of the first virtualenvironment.

18. The method of claim 3, wherein adding the third user to theconversation based on the first position and the third position furthercomprises: retrieving a threshold conversation size for theconversation; determining a number of users in the conversation;comparing the threshold conversation size to the number of users;determining that the number of users meets the threshold conversationsize; and in response to determining that the number of users meets thethreshold conversation size, determining to add the third user to theconversation.

19. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, wherein adding thethird user to the conversation based on the first position and the thirdposition further comprises: determining, for a fourth avatar, a fourthposition in the first virtual environment; retrieving a second thresholddistance for adding the fourth user to the conversation, wherein thesecond threshold distance indicates a minimum distance from any avatarin the conversation for maintaining avatars in the conversation;determining a third distance, wherein the third distance is between thefourth position and the first position; comparing the third distance tothe second threshold distance; determining that third distance does notmeet the second threshold distance; and in response to determining thatthe third distance does not meet the second threshold distance, notadding the fourth user to the conversation.

20. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, wherein adding thethird user to the conversation based on the first position and the thirdposition further comprises: determining a distance based on the firstposition and the third position; determining a length of time at whichthe first avatar and the third avatar have maintained the distance;retrieving a threshold length of time for adding users to aconversation; comparing the length of time to the threshold length oftime; determining that length of time meets the threshold length oftime; and in response to determining that length of time meets thethreshold length of time, determining to add the third user to theconversation.

21. A method for facilitating external control of user-controlledavatars in a virtual environment in order to triggering peer-to-peerlivestream communications between users, the method comprising:generating for simultaneous display a first virtual environment on afirst user interface and a second user interface, wherein the first userinterface corresponds to a first user, wherein the second user interfacecorresponds to a second user, and wherein the first user is locatedremotely from the second user; generating for display a first avatar inthe first virtual environment, wherein the first avatar corresponds tothe first user; generating for display a second avatar in the firstvirtual environment, wherein the second avatar corresponds to the seconduser; determining, for the first avatar, a first position in the firstvirtual environment; determining, for the second avatar, a secondposition in the first virtual environment; receiving a first user input,wherein the first user input selects a portion of the first virtualenvironment that includes the first position and the second position;and in response to the user input selecting the portion of the firstvirtual environment that includes the first position and the secondposition, initiating a conversation between the first user and thesecond user, wherein the conversation comprises a peer-to-peerlivestream communication between the first user and the second user.

22. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:after initiating the conversation between the first user and the seconduser, generating for display the peer-to-peer livestream communicationbetween the first user and the second user, wherein the peer-to-peerlivestream communication between the first user and the second usercomprises a simultaneous display of a first video feed of the first userand a second video feed of a second user, and wherein the first videofeed and the second video feed are overlaid on the first virtualenvironment; receiving a first user input, wherein the first user inputmaintains the conversation and causes a transition to a second virtualenvironment; loading the second virtual environment; while the secondvirtual environment is loading, maintaining the simulateneous display ofthe first video feed and the second video feed; and generating forsimultaneous display the second virtual environment on a first userinterface and a second user interface, wherein the first video feed andthe second video feed are overlaid on the second virtual environment.

23. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:after initiating the conversation between the first user and the seconduser, retrieving a predetermined spatial arrangement for a conversationjoin area for the conversation; and automatically moving, without userinput, the first avatar and the second avatar based on the predeterminedspatial arrangement.

24. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:determining, based on a second user input, a conversation join area forthe conversation; determining a center point of the conversation joinarea; and automatically moving, without user input, the first avatar andthe second avatar towards the center point after initiating theconversation between the first user and the second user.

25. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:receiving a second user input, wherein the second user input selects aconversation position for the conversation; determining a firstdifference, wherein the first difference comprises a distance betweenthe first position and the conversation position in the first virtualenvironment; determining a second difference, wherein the seconddifference comprises a distance between the second position and theconversation position in the first virtual environment; determining amovement, in the first virtual environment, of the first avatar to a newposition; determining a first adjustment to first difference based onthe movement; and automatically moving, without user input, the secondavatar, in the first virtual environment, by the first adjustment.

26. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:after initiating the conversation between the first user and the seconduser, determining a movement, in the first virtual environment, of thefirst avatar to a new position; determining a difference between the newposition and the first position; and automatically moving, without userinput, the second avatar, in the first virtual environment, by thedifference.

27. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:after initiating the conversation between the first user and the seconduser, receiving a third user input, wherein the third user input causesthe first avatar to navigate about the first virtual environment;determining, for the first avatar, a new position in the first virtualenvironment; determining one or more join areas based on the newposition or the second position; and comparing the one or more joinareas to one or more conversation maintenance criteria to determinewhether to maintain the conversation between the first user and thesecond user.

28. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:generating for simultaneous display the first virtual environment on athird user interface, wherein the third user interface corresponds to athird user; generating for display a third avatar in the first virtualenvironment, wherein the third avatar corresponds to the third user;determining, for the third avatar, a third position in the first virtualenvironment; determining a third join area based on the third position;and automatically adding, without user input, the third user to theconversation based on the third join area.

29. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:after initiating the conversation between the first user and the seconduser, determining, for the first avatar, a new velocity or a newtrajectory; and comparing the new velocity or the new trajectory to oneor more conversation maintenance criteria to determine whether tomaintain the conversation between the first user and the second user.

30. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:determining, based on the first user input, a conversation join area forthe conversation; determining that the conversation join area overlapswith a second conversation join area; and in response determining thatthe conversation join area overlaps with the second conversation joinarea, automatically modifying the conversation join area withoutsubsequent user input.

31. A method for triggering peer-to-peer livestream communicationsbetween users based on motions of avatars within the first virtualenvironment that corresponds to the users, the method comprising:generating for simultaneous display a first virtual environment on afirst user interface and a second user interface, wherein the first userinterface corresponds to a first user, wherein the second user interfacecorresponds to a second user, and wherein the first user is locatedremotely from the second user; generating for display a first avatar inthe first virtual environment, wherein the first avatar corresponds tothe first user; generating for display a second avatar in the firstvirtual environment, wherein the second avatar corresponds to the seconduser; determining, for the first avatar, a first velocity in the firstvirtual environment; determining, for the second avatar, a secondvelocity in the first virtual environment; determining one or more joinareas based on the first velocity or the second velocity; comparing theone or more join areas to one or more conversation initiation criteriato determine whether to initiate a conversation between the first userand the second user; and in response to determining to initiate theconversation between the first user and the second user, initiating theconversation between the first user and the second user, wherein theconversation comprises a peer-to-peer livestream communication betweenthe first user and the second user.

32. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, wherein determiningthe one or more join areas based on the first velocity or the secondvelocity comprises: retrieving a threshold velocity for initiating theconversation, wherein the threshold velocity indicates a maximumvelocity for initiating the conversation; comparing the first velocityto the threshold velocity; and determining that the first velocity meetsthe threshold velocity.

33. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, wherein determiningthe one or more join areas based on the first velocity or the secondvelocity further comprises: determining, for the first avatar, a firsttrajectory in the first virtual environment; determining, for the secondavatar, a second trajectory in the first virtual environment; anddetermining the one or more join areas based on the first trajectory orthe second trajectory.

34. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:after initiating the conversation between the first user and the seconduser, determining, for the first avatar, a new velocity or a newtrajectory; and comparing the new velocity or the new trajectory to oneor more conversation maintenance criteria to determine whether tomaintain the conversation between the first user and the second user.

35. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:determining, for the first avatar, a first position in the first virtualenvironment after initiating the conversation between the first user andthe second user; determining a movement, in the first virtualenvironment, of the first avatar to a new position; determining adifference between the new position and the first position; andautomatically moving, without user input, the second avatar, in thefirst virtual environment, by the difference.

36. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:determining, for the first avatar, a first position in the first virtualenvironment after initiating the conversation between the first user andthe second user; determining, for the second avatar, a second positionin the first virtual environment after initiating the conversationbetween the first user and the second user; determining a firstdifference, wherein the first difference comprises a distance betweenthe first position and a conversation position in the first virtualenvironment; determining a second difference, wherein the seconddifference comprises a distance between the second position and theconversation position in the first virtual environment; determining amovement, in the first virtual environment, of the first avatar to a newposition; determining a first adjustment to first difference based onthe movement; and automatically moving, without user input, the secondavatar, in the first virtual environment, by the first adjustment.

37. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:determining, for the first avatar, a first position in the first virtualenvironment; determining, for the second avatar, a second position inthe first virtual environment; determining, based on the first positionand the second position, a conversation join area for the conversation;determining a center point of the conversation join area; andautomatically moving, without user input, the first avatar and thesecond avatar towards the center point after initiating the conversationbetween the first user and the second user.

38. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:after initiating the conversation between the first user and the seconduser, retrieving a predetermined spatial arrangement for a conversationjoin area for the conversation; and automatically moving, without userinput, the first avatar and the second avatar based on the predeterminedspatial arrangement.

39. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:determining, for the first avatar, a first position in the first virtualenvironment; determining, for the second avatar, a second position inthe first virtual environment; determining, based on the first positionand the second position, a conversation join area for the conversation;determining that the conversation join area overlaps with a secondconversation join area; and in response determining that theconversation join area overlaps with the second conversation join area,modifying the conversation join area.

40. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, wherein determiningthe one or more join areas based on the first velocity or the secondvelocity further comprises: retrieving a first join area criterion forthe first user; retrieving an environment rule for the first virtualenvironment; determining a grid map of the first virtual environmentbased on the environment rule, wherein the grid map defines a pluralityof cells that comprise the first virtual environment and one or morecell properties for each cell of the plurality of cells; and determininga subset of cells in the grid map that comprise a first join area basedon the first velocity, first join area criterion, and the one or morecell properties for each of the plurality of cells in the grid map.

41. A method for triggering peer-to-peer livestream communicationsbetween users based on proximity-based criteria for avatars withinvirtual environments that correspond to the users, the methodcomprising: generating for simultaneous display a first virtualenvironment on a plurality of user interfaces, wherein a respective userinterface of the plurality of user interfaces is accessible to each of afirst user, a second user, and a third user, wherein the first user, thesecond user, and the third user are located remotely from each other;generating for display, in the first virtual environment, a first avatarcorresponding to the first user, a second avatar corresponding to thesecond user, and a third avatar corresponding to the third user;generating for display on the respective user interfaces for the firstuser and the second user a conversation, wherein the conversationcomprises a peer-to-peer livestream communication between the first userand the second user; determining, for the third avatar, a third positionin the first virtual environment; determining, for the conversation, aconversation position in the first virtual environment; determining oneor more join areas based on the third position or the conversationposition, wherein the conversation position is based on a first positionfor the first avatar and a second position for the second avatar;comparing the one or more join areas to one or more conversationinitiation criteria to determine whether to allow the third user to jointhe conversation; and in response to determining to allow the third userto join the conversation, adding the third user to the conversation,wherein adding the third user to the conversation comprises generatingfor display, the peer-to-peer livestream communication, on therespective user interfaces for the first user, the second user, and thethird user.

42. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, wherein determiningthe one or more join areas based on the third position or theconversation position comprises determining a distance between the firstconversation position and the third position, and wherein comparing theone or more join areas to one or more conversation initiation criteriato determine whether to allow the third user to join the conversationfurther comprises: retrieving a threshold distance for allowing thethird user to join the conversation; and comparing the distance to thethreshold distance to determine whether the distance is equal to orwithin the threshold distance.

43. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, wherein determiningone or more join areas based on the third position or the conversationposition comprises determining a third join area about the thirdposition and a conversation join area for the conversation position, andwherein comparing the one or more join areas to one or more conversationinitiation criteria to determine whether to allow the third user to jointhe conversation further comprises: retrieving a threshold overlap areafor allowing the third user to join the conversation; determining anoverlap area between the third join area and the conversation join area;and determining whether the overlap area equals or exceeds the thresholdoverlap area.

44. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, wherein determiningone or more join areas based on the third position or the conversationposition further comprises: retrieving a third user profile for thethird user; retrieving a third join area criterion from the third userprofile; retrieving an environment rule for the first virtualenvironment; and determining a size or shape of a third join area, forthe third avatar, based on the third join area criterion and theenvironment rule.

45. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, wherein determiningone or more join areas based on the third position or the conversationposition further comprises: determining a trajectory for the thirdavatar; retrieving a third join area criterion for the third user;retrieving an environment rule for the first virtual environment; anddetermining a size or shape of a third join area, for the third avatar,based on the third join area criterion and the environment rule.

46. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, wherein determiningone or more join areas based on the third position or the conversationposition further comprises: retrieving a third join area criterion forthe third user; retrieving an environment rule for the first virtualenvironment; determining a grid map of the first virtual environmentbased on the environment rule, wherein the grid map defines a pluralityof cells that comprise the first virtual environment and one or morecell properties for each cell of the plurality of cells; and determininga subset of cells in the grid map that comprise a third join area, forthe third avatar, based on the third position, third join areacriterion, and the one or more cell properties for each of the pluralityof cells in the grid map.

47. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, whereindetermining, for the conversation, the conversation position in thefirst virtual environment further comprises: determining an initialconversation position based on the first position for the first avatarand the second position for the second avatar; determining that thefirst avatar has navigated to a new position; and adjusting the initialconversation position based on the new position and the second position.

48. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, wherein determiningone or more join areas based on the third position or the conversationposition further comprises determining a size or shape of a conversationjoin area based on the first position and the second position.

49. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:determining a distance between the third position and the conversationposition; and generating for display on the respective user interfacesfor the first user, the second user, and the third user, a joinindicator, wherein the join indicator indicates that the third user isavailable to join the conversation, and wherein a characteristic of thejoin indicator is based on the distance.

50. The method of any of the proceeding embodiments, further comprising:after adding the third user to the conversation, receiving a second userinput, wherein the second user input causes the third avatar to navigateabout the first virtual environment; determining, for the third avatar,a new position in the first virtual environment; determining one or morejoin areas based on the new position or the conversation position; andcomparing the one or more join areas to one or more conversationmaintenance criteria to determine whether to maintain the third user inthe conversation.

51. A tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium storinginstructions that, when executed by a data processing apparatus, causethe data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising those ofany of the preceding embodiments.

52. A system comprising: one or more processors; and memory storinginstructions that, when executed by the processors, cause the processorsto effectuate operations comprising those of any of the precedingembodiments.

53. A system comprising means for performing of any of the precedingembodiments.

What is claimed:
 1. A system for triggering livestream communicationsbetween users based on proximity-based criteria for avatars withinvirtual environments that correspond to the users, the systemcomprising: a first computer terminal comprising a first user interfaceand a first webcam; a second computer terminal comprising a second userinterface and a second webcam; a third computer terminal comprising athird user interface and a third webcam; a server configured to:generate for simultaneous display a first virtual environment onrespective user interfaces, wherein the respective user interfaces areaccessible to each of a first user, a second user, and a third user,wherein the first user, the second user, and the third user are locatedremotely from each other; generate for display, in the first virtualenvironment, a first avatar corresponding to the first user, a secondavatar corresponding to the second user, and a third avatarcorresponding to the third user, wherein the first avatar comprises avirtual representation of the first user that may be navigated about thefirst virtual environment, wherein the second avatar comprises a virtualrepresentation of the second user that may be navigated about the firstvirtual environment, and wherein the third avatar comprises a virtualrepresentation of the third user that may be navigated about the firstvirtual environment; generate for display on the respective userinterfaces for the first user and the second user a conversation,wherein the conversation comprises a livestream communication using thefirst webcam and the second webcam; determine, for the first avatar, afirst position in the first virtual environment; determine, for thethird avatar, a third position in the first virtual environment; andadd, without user input, the third user to the conversation based on thefirst position and the third position, wherein adding the third user tothe conversation comprises generating for display, the livestreamcommunication, on the respective user interfaces using the first webcam,the second webcam, and the third webcam, and wherein adding the thirduser to the conversation based on the first position and the thirdposition further comprises: determining, for the second avatar, a secondposition in the first virtual environment; retrieving a first thresholddistance for adding the third user to the conversation, wherein thefirst threshold distance indicates a maximum distance from any avatarsin the conversation for adding a new avatar to the conversation;determining a first distance, wherein the first distance is between thethird position and the second position; and comparing the first distanceto the first threshold distance to determine to add the third user tothe conversation.
 2. A method for triggering livestream communicationsbetween users based on proximity-based criteria for avatars withinvirtual environments that correspond to the users, the methodcomprising: generating for simultaneous display a first virtualenvironment on respective user interfaces, wherein the respective userinterfaces are accessible to each of a first user, a second user, and athird user, wherein the first user, the second user, and the third userare located remotely from each other; generating for display, in thefirst virtual environment, a first avatar corresponding to the firstuser, a second avatar corresponding to the second user, and a thirdavatar corresponding to the third user; generating for display on therespective user interfaces for the first user and the second user aconversation, wherein the conversation comprises a livestreamcommunication between the first user and the second user; determining,for the first avatar, a first position in the first virtual environment;determining, for the third avatar, a third position in the first virtualenvironment; and adding, without user input, the third user to theconversation based on the first position and the third position, whereinadding the third user to the conversation comprises generating fordisplay, the livestream communication, on the respective user interfacesfor the first user, the second user, and the third user, and whereinadding the third user to the conversation based on the first positionand the third position further comprises: determining, for the secondavatar, a second position in the first virtual environment; retrieving afirst threshold distance for adding the third user to the conversation,wherein the first threshold distance indicates a maximum distance fromany avatars in the conversation for adding a new avatar to theconversation; determining a first distance, wherein the first distanceis between the third position and the second position; and comparing thefirst distance to the first threshold distance to determine to add thethird user to the conversation.
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: determining that the first user has left the conversation;and maintaining, without user input, the conversation comprisesgenerating for display, the livestream communication, on the respectiveuser interfaces for the second user and the third user.
 4. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: determining, for a fourth avatar for afourth user, a fourth position in the first virtual environment;retrieving the first threshold distance for adding the fourth user tothe conversation; determining a fourth distance, wherein the fourthdistance is between the fourth position and the second position;comparing the fourth distance to the first threshold distance;determining that the fourth distance does not meet the first thresholddistance; and in response to determining that the fourth distance doesnot meet the first threshold distance, not adding the fourth user to theconversation.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the first thresholddistance represents an absolute distance limit, such that if anon-connected avatar meets spatial criteria for being connected to theconversation, but is greater than first threshold distance away from anyone of the avatars already in the conversation, the non-connected avataris prevented from joining the conversation.
 6. The method of claim 2,further comprising: determining a number of users in the conversation;and determining the first threshold distance based on the number ofusers.
 7. The method of claim 2, further comprising: determining adensity of avatars in the first virtual environment; and determining thefirst threshold distance based on the density.
 8. The method of claim 2,further comprising: determining a size of the first virtual environment;and determining the first threshold distance based on the size of thefirst virtual environment.
 9. The method of claim 2, wherein adding thethird user to the conversation based on the first position and the thirdposition further comprises: retrieving a threshold conversation size forthe conversation; determining a number of users in the conversation;comparing the threshold conversation size to the number of users;determining that the number of users meets the threshold conversationsize; and in response to determining that the number of users meets thethreshold conversation size, determining to add the third user to theconversation.
 10. The method of claim 2, wherein adding the third userto the conversation based on the first position and the third positionfurther comprises: determining, for a fourth avatar for a fourth user, afourth position in the first virtual environment; retrieving a secondthreshold distance for adding the fourth user to the conversation,wherein the second threshold distance indicates a minimum distance fromany avatar in the conversation for maintaining avatars in theconversation; determining a third distance, wherein the third distanceis between the fourth position and the first position; comparing thethird distance to the second threshold distance; determining that thirdfirst distance does not meet the second threshold distance; and inresponse to determining that the third distance does not meet the secondthreshold distance, not adding the fourth user to the conversation. 11.The method of claim 2, wherein adding the third user to the conversationbased on the first position and the third position further comprises:determining a distance based on the first position and the thirdposition; determining a length of time at which the first avatar and thethird avatar have maintained the distance; retrieving a threshold lengthof time for adding users to a conversation; comparing the length of timeto the threshold length of time; determining that length of time meetsthe threshold length of time; and in response to determining that lengthof time meets the threshold length of time, determining to add the thirduser to the conversation.
 12. A non-transitory, computer readable mediumcomprising instructions that when executed on one or more processorscause operations comprising: generating for simultaneous display a firstvirtual environment on respective user interfaces, wherein therespective user interfaces are accessible to each of a first user, asecond user, and a third user, wherein the first user, the second user,and the third user are located remotely from each other; generating fordisplay, in the first virtual environment, a first avatar correspondingto the first user, a second avatar corresponding to the second user, anda third avatar corresponding to the third user; generating for displayon the respective user interfaces for the first user and the second usera conversation, wherein the conversation comprises a livestreamcommunication between the first user and the second user; determining,for the first avatar, a first position in the first virtual environment;determining, for the third avatar, a third position in the first virtualenvironment; and adding, without user input, the third user to theconversation based on the first position and the third position, whereinadding the third user to the conversation comprises generating fordisplay, the livestream communication, on the respective user interfacesfor the first user, the second user, and the third user, and whereinadding the third user to the conversation based on the first positionand the third position further comprises: determining, for the secondavatar, a second position in the first virtual environment; retrieving afirst threshold distance for adding the third user to the conversation,wherein the first threshold distance indicates a maximum distance fromany avatars in the conversation for adding a new avatar to theconversation; determining a first distance, wherein the first distanceis between the third position and the second position; and comparing thefirst distance to the first threshold distance to determine to add thethird user to the conversation.
 13. The non-transitory, computerreadable medium of claim 12, wherein the instructions further causeoperations comprising: determining that the first user has left theconversation; and maintaining, without user input, the conversationcomprises generating for display, the livestream communication, on therespective user interfaces for the second user and the third user. 14.The non-transitory, computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein theinstructions further cause operations comprising: determining, for afourth avatar for a fourth user, a fourth position in the first virtualenvironment; retrieving the first threshold distance for adding thefourth user to the conversation; determining a fourth distance, whereinthe fourth distance is between the fourth position and the secondposition; comparing the fourth distance to the first threshold distance;determining that the fourth distance does not meet the first thresholddistance; and in response to determining that the fourth distance doesnot meet the first threshold distance, not adding the fourth user to theconversation.
 15. The non-transitory, computer readable medium of claim12, wherein the first threshold distance represents an absolute distancelimit, such that if a non-connected avatar meets spatial criteria forbeing connected to the conversation, but is greater than first thresholddistance away from any avatar already in the conversation, thenon-connected avatar is prevented from joining the conversation.
 16. Thenon-transitory, computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein theinstructions further cause operations comprising: determining a numberof users in the conversation; and determining the first thresholddistance based on the number of users.
 17. The non-transitory, computerreadable medium of claim 12, wherein the instructions further causeoperations comprising: determining a density of avatars in the firstvirtual environment; and determining the first threshold distance basedon the density.
 18. The non-transitory, computer readable medium ofclaim 12, wherein the instructions further cause operations comprising:determining a size of the first virtual environment; and determining thefirst threshold distance based on the size of the first virtualenvironment.
 19. The non-transitory, computer readable medium of claim12, wherein adding the third user to the conversation based on the firstposition and the third position further comprises: retrieving athreshold conversation size for the conversation; determining a numberof users in the conversation; comparing the threshold conversation sizeto the number of users; determining that the number of users meets thethreshold conversation size; and in response to determining that thenumber of users meets the threshold conversation size, determining toadd the third user to the conversation.
 20. The non-transitory, computerreadable medium of claim 12, wherein adding the third user to theconversation based on the first position and the third position furthercomprises: determining, for a fourth avatar for a fourth user, a fourthposition in the first virtual environment; retrieving a second thresholddistance for adding the fourth user to the conversation, wherein thesecond threshold distance indicates a minimum distance from any avatarin the conversation for maintaining avatars in the conversation;determining a third distance, wherein the third distance is between thefourth position and the first position; comparing the third distance tothe second threshold distance; determining that third first distancedoes not meet the second threshold distance; and in response todetermining that the third distance does not meet the second thresholddistance, not adding the fourth user to the conversation.